AI Risk Wire

Cases › other › LR-2026-0575

Deepfake videos traced to Maharashtra cleric in Ayush Malik case

Preliminary Why: Publisher not yet named · subject to change

Status: no action reported

Severity moderate
Reported 16 Jun 2026

No source states: loss or records, developer and model, agent tool, could do, deployer, industry.

A video showing Ayush Malik, the son of a businessman from Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh, saying he had converted to Islam of his own free will was circulated widely on social media. Police investigations later found the video was not authentic and had allegedly been created using artificial intelligence tools. A second clip, featuring a woman claiming to be his sister, also circulated; his father said she had no connection to the family. Police traced the source of the AI-generated video to Nashik in Maharashtra, where it had been uploaded through an Instagram account allegedly linked to a well-known cleric. The clip was circulated through more than 50 accounts, and investigators are examining their role. Three accused were already in jail in the wider conversion case, and the cleric has reportedly apologised while police action may still follow.

What happened

1 · What it was doingA viral video showed Ayush Malik identifying himself as Mohammad Ali and claiming he had embraced Islam of his own free will.
2 · What went wrongPolice investigations later found the video was not authentic and had allegedly been created using AI tools.
3 · What it reached or didThe clip was widely shared and circulated through more than 50 different accounts.
4 · How it was caughtDuring the investigation, police traced the source of the viral AI-generated video to Nashik in Maharashtra.

What was done

No source states an action or fix.

Risks

Manipulation and misinformation
Primary65 incidents

Read from the sources; not yet reviewed by a person.

Controls

Not yet read for controls. Controls that mitigate the primary risk:

Model

Marking machine-made output · Abuse monitoring and account enforcement · Content safety classifiers

Application

People told they are dealing with AI

Infrastructure / target

Phishing and fraud filters

Evidence

No source states: when it happened, when it was found, how many records were exposed, the direct loss, a count of the other parties affected, any court case, the cause, what set it off, what was done.

Show the full account: 6 items from the primary sources

What happened, in order

Not dated in the sources:

  • The first video was widely shared across social media through more than 50 accounts.
  • Soon after the first video went viral, a second clip surfaced featuring a woman claiming to be Ayush Malik's sister.
  • Following circulation of the clip, Ayush's father approached the police and lodged a complaint.
  • During the investigation, police traced the source of the viral AI-generated video to Nashik in Maharashtra.
  • A team from Uttar Pradesh Police was reportedly sent to Nashik as part of the ongoing investigation.
  • Following the controversy, the woman in the second clip reportedly released another video apologising.
Show every field, with its source and grade

What happened

Earliest source we hold
2026-06-16
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Who caught it
a human reviewer
C one secondary source states it
What went wrong
other
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
primary risk
RK19
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown

Impact

Severity
moderate
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown

Notes on gaps

The cleric's responsibility and the uploader's identity are only reported as allegations.

LR-2026-0575 · version 1 · published 2026-11-01 after automatic checks; not yet checked field by field by a person · JSON