‘Looked so real’: How AI is being weaponised against India’s Muslim women

The emergence of deepfake videos targeting Muslim women in India reflects a disturbing escalation in the weaponization of artificial intelligence to amplify communal hatred and gendered violence. This trend is not confined to a single incident but part of a broader pattern where AI-generated disinformation is being deployed to humiliate, intimidate, and silence marginalized communities. For Muslim women in India—already subjected to systemic discrimination, online harassment, and state-led marginalization—the proliferation of such content poses a dual threat: it normalizes violence while eroding trust in digital spaces as safe platforms for expression. What makes this phenomenon particularly insidious is its scalability. Unlike traditional forms of misinformation that rely on networks of propagandists, AI tools now allow bad actors to generate realistic, personalized content at scale with minimal effort. The psychological impact is profound: victims report feeling violated not just by the content itself but by the knowledge that their likeness can be exploited without their consent. This mirrors global concerns about AI-driven abuse, yet in India, it intersects with a political climate where Islamophobia has been institutionalized, emboldening those who seek to dehumanize Muslim women through coordinated online campaigns. The legal and technological responses remain inadequate. While India’s IT Rules (2021) mandate the removal of deepfakes, enforcement is inconsistent, and platforms often prioritize engagement metrics over accountability. Meanwhile, the lack of comprehensive data on such cases—many victims avoid reporting due to stigma or fear of backlash—obscures the true scale of the problem. This opacity complicates efforts to address systemic root causes, including the role of political rhetoric in normalizing hate speech. Looking ahead, the trajectory of this issue will likely depend on three factors: the evolution of AI detection tools, the willingness of digital platforms to enforce their own policies, and the readiness of Indian authorities to treat deepfake abuse as a form of gendered and religious persecution. Without urgent action, the weaponization of AI against Muslim women risks becoming an intractable feature of India’s digital public sphere, further entrenching inequality under the guise of technological progress.