The rise of artificial intelligence has given the world countless benefits, from voice assistants and smart filters to tools that make life easier. But it has also unlocked something far more dangerous and disturbing: the power to create a fake reality. Now, the misuse of AI is wrecking real lives, and more often than not, women are the ones at the centre of it.
The recent case of Babydoll Archi, a seemingly real Instagram influencer with over a million followers, is one of the most shocking examples of how deepfake technology, fueled by revenge and obsession, can spiral into something far more sinister.
Who Is Archita Phukan Or Babydoll Archi?
For weeks, social media buzzed with videos of Babydoll Archi, a glamorous, bold, and mysterious figure dancing in sultry reels, posing with adult film stars, and racking up likes, followers, and even media attention. From the outside, she looked like a rising influencer on the brink of international fame.
But there is no real woman behind that handle. Instead, it was a carefully fabricated online persona, created using artificial intelligence tools and stolen images of an unsuspecting homemaker from Dibrugarh, Assam. A woman who had no social media presence and no idea that she had become the face of a digital illusion.
Babydoll Archi’s Deepfake Videos: How Her Virtual Identity Was Used For Money And Revenge
The truth only came out when the victim’s brother filed a police complaint. The mastermind behind the account turned out to be her ex-boyfriend, Pratim Bora, a mechanical engineer who used AI tools like ChatGPT and Dzine to morph her personal photos into hyper-realistic images and videos.
Bora had been running the account since 2020. By 2021, it had moved from simple edits to full deepfake videos, featuring increasingly sexualised content. The account amassed over 1.4 million followers, earned a blue tick, and generated ₹10 lakh, with ₹3 lakh coming in, in just five days through subscriptions.
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Babydoll Archi had over 3,000 paying followers, a Linktree page, and was featured in global media speculation around a potential career in adult entertainment. But behind the clicks and comments was a woman who didn’t even know this was happening.
What Is A Deepfake Video?
A deepfake is a type of synthetic media in which a person’s face or body is digitally altered to make it look like they are doing or saying something they never did. Deepfakes are difficult to detect because they’re shockingly realistic. This technology is being used to deceive, manipulate, and harm.
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Emergence Of Deepfake Videos
According to a 2024 Pi-Labs report, deepfake cases in India have risen by 550% since 2019, with potential losses of over ₹70,000 crore this year alone. A McAfee study also revealed that 75% of Indians have come across deepfake content, with most of it targeting public figures and women.
What started off as a novelty has turned into a dangerous tool of exploitation. It’s no longer affecting just celebrities or influencers. Regular women are becoming victims. The ability to take someone’s photo and turn it into something obscene without their knowledge or consent is horrifying, but it is the reality of today.
Rashmika Mandanna’s Deepfake Video Incident
Earlier, Bollywood star Rashmika Mandanna was the target of a viral deepfake video. It showed her entering an elevator in a suggestive manner, but it wasn’t really her. A British-Indian influencer named Zara Patel was the original person in the clip, but Rashmika’s face had been swapped in using AI.
🚨 There is an urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfake in India.
— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) November 5, 2023
You might have seen this viral video of actress Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram. But wait, this is a deepfake video of Zara Patel.
This thread contains the actual video. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/SidP1Xa4sT
Even Amitabh Bachchan spoke out in support, calling it “a strong case for legal action.” The internet was flooded with people debating whether the video was real, while Rashmika had to deal with the trauma of seeing her face in a video she never made.
QTCinderella’s Deepfake Explicit Video Scandal
Twitch streamer QTCinderella, known for her baking streams and community work, broke down on a live stream after discovering that her face had been used in deepfake pornographic content.
Even after the video was removed, screenshots continued to circulate. Strangers were sending her explicit photos of herself that weren’t real but looked terrifyingly authentic. She said it felt like reliving a sexual assault, despite the fact that the footage was digitally created.
It’s a violation not just of privacy, but of identity and bodily autonomy.
How Women Are At The Core Of AI Misuse?
What’s clear across all these stories is this: Women have mostly been at the centre of AI abuse. Deepfake tools are being used, again and again, to target women, to strip them of dignity, silence them, or shame them. Or use their identity in ways and forms, that they’d never consent to in real life.
Deepfakes have been used to turn a woman’s face into a weapon used against her. And the consequences are lasting, like trauma, social backlash, damaged reputations, and a loss of control over one’s own image.
Deepfake videos are no longer just eerie tech experiments or internet jokes. They are becoming tools of harassment, revenge, and emotional destruction, with women paying the highest price.
Babydoll Archi may not exist, but the pain, fear, and violation felt by the real woman whose face was stolen is very real. If we do not act now, with proper laws, awareness, and strong consequences, we are telling women they are not safe, not even in their own skin. The technology may be fake. But the trauma caused through it is heartbreakingly real.
Image Credits: Instagram, Freepik, And Unsplash
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