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BBC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Babydoll Archi: Indian woman's identity stolen for erotic AI content in deepfake deception
It took just a few days for Indian Instagram sensation Babydoll Archi to double her following to 1.4 million, thanks to a couple of viral social media was a video that showed her in a red sari, dancing seductively to Dame Un Grr – a Romanian song. And a photo posted on the platform showed her posing with American adult film star Kendra everyone wanted to know about her - and the name Babydoll Archi trended in Google search and spawned countless memes and fan pages. But there was one issue about to emerge – there was no real woman behind the online Instagram account was fake, although the face it used had uncanny likeness to a real woman - a homemaker in Dibrugarh city in Assam, whom we'll call truth unravelled after her brother lodged a police complaint. Pratim Bora, Sanchi's ex-boyfriend, was police officer Sizal Agarwal who's heading the investigation told the BBC that Sanchi and Bora had a falling out and the AI likeness he created was to exact "pure revenge" on - a mechanical engineer and a self-taught artificial intelligence (AI) enthusiast - used private photos of Sanchi to create a fake profile, Ms Agarwal is in custody and has not made any statements yet. The BBC has reached out to his family and will update the article when they Archi was created in 2020 and the first uploads were made in May 2021. The initial photos were her real pictures that had been morphed, Ms Agarwal said."As time passed, Bora used tools such as ChatGPT and Dzine to create an AI version. He then populated the handle with deepfake photos and videos."The account started picking up likes from last year but it started gaining traction from April this year, she short two-paragraph complaint to the police submitted by Sanchi's family on the night of 11 July came with printouts of some photos and videos as Agarwal says it did not name anyone because they had no idea who could be behind it. Babydoll Archi was not an unfamiliar name for the police. Ms Agarwal says they had also seen media reports and comments speculating that she was AI generated, but there had been no suggestion that it was based on a real they received the complaint, police wrote to Instagram asking for the details of the account's creator."Once we received information from Instagram, we asked Sanchi if she knew any Pratim Bora. Once she confirmed, we traced his address in the neighbouring district of Tinsukia. We arrested him on the evening of 12 July."Ms Agarwal says the police have "seized his laptop, mobile phones and hard drives and his bank documents since he had monetised the account"."The account had 3,000 subscriptions on linktree and we believe he had earned 1m rupees from it. We believe he made 300,000 rupees in just five days before his arrest," she added. Ms Agarwal says Sanchi is "extremely distraught - but now she and her family are receiving counselling and they are doing better".There really is no way to prevent something like this from happening, "but had we acted earlier, we could have prevented it from gaining so much traction", Ms Agarwal said."But Sanchi had no idea because she has no social media presence. Her family too had been blocked out from this account. They became aware only once it went viral," she has not responded to the BBC queries on the case, but it generally does not allow posting of nudity or sexual content. And last month, CBS reported that it removed a number of ads promoting AI tools used to create sexually explicit deepfakes using images of real people. The Instagram account of Babydoll Archi, which had 282 posts, is no longer available to public - although social media is replete with her photos and videos and one Instagram account seems to have all of them. The BBC has asked Meta what they are planning to do about Bal, AI expert and lawyer, says what happened to Sanchi "is horrible but almost impossible to prevent".She can go to the court and seek the right to be forgotten, and a court can order the press reports that named her to be taken down but it's hard to scrub all the trace from the happened to Sanchi, she says, is what's always been happening to women, where their photos and videos are circulated as revenge."It's now a lot easier to do because of AI, but such incidents are still not as common as we expect - or they could be under-reported because of stigma or people being targeted may not even know about it as in the present case," Ms Bal says. And people watching it had no incentive to report it to the social media platform or cybercrime portal, she their complaint against Mr Bora, police have invoked sections of law that deal with sexual harassment, distribution of obscene material, defamation, forgery to harm reputation, cheating by personification and cybercrime. If found guilty, Mr Bora could get up to 10 years in case which has also led to outrage on social media in recent days has seen some seeking tougher laws to deal with such Bal believes there are enough laws to take care of such cases, but whether there's scope for new laws to deal with generative AI companies has to be looked at."But we also have to remember that deepfakes are not necessarily bad and laws have to be carefully crafted because they can be weaponised to chill free speech."Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook
Entrepreneur
22-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Vivek Oberoi Acquires 21% Stake in Rutland Square Spirits
"India's rich tea heritage will now meet Scotland's time-honoured spirits tradition," said Oberoi. "This project is an exciting bridge between two economies and cultures." You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In an exciting cross-cultural collaboration, Bollywood actor and entrepreneur Vivek Anand Oberoi has acquired a 21% stake in Rutland Square Spirits Ltd, a premium Scottish spirits company known for its oolong white tea-infused liquor. This move marks the beginning of a unique journey that brings together India's ancient tea heritage and Scotland's world-renowned spirits tradition. "India's rich tea heritage will now meet Scotland's time-honoured spirits tradition," said Oberoi. "This project is an exciting bridge between two economies and cultures." Founded by Nishant Sharma, Rutland Square Spirits has already gained recognition for pushing the boundaries in the alcobev space by infusing Dibrugarh's world-famous tea leaves into its artisanal spirits. Dibrugarh, along with Tinsukia and Sivasagar, contributes nearly half of India's tea production and is now being celebrated globally in an unexpected form—Scotch-style spirits. "We are delighted to welcome Vivek Oberoi to the Rutland Square family," said Nishant Sharma, Founder and CEO. "This collaboration is a testament to the growing relationship between Scotland, India, and the wider South Asian community. It goes beyond investment—we are creating a cultural and artisanal experience." In addition to strengthening the company's product offerings, the partnership has also unveiled ambitious plans to build a net-zero luxury hotel in Edinburgh. This landmark project will feature Europe's first hydrogen-powered hospitality facilities and Scotland's first Ayurvedic wellness centre, blending modern sustainability with ancient Indian healing traditions. "This marks a new chapter in Scotland's hospitality sector," added Oberoi. "We're not just building a hotel—we're creating an experience rooted in heritage, sustainability, and global excellence." The partnership also reflects a larger trend in growing UK-India trade relations, particularly in the food and beverage sector. With India being the world's largest whisky market and talks on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) underway, this collaboration is well-positioned to benefit from reduced tariffs and expanded global access for premium Indian brands. Oberoi's investment aligns with his broader commitment to sustainable luxury and cross-cultural ventures. Already active in edtech, fintech, agritech, and real estate, this step further establishes his global footprint as a visionary entrepreneur focused on high-impact, transformative projects.
