India: 19-minute viral Instagram Assam video sparks deepfake fears and cyberbullying storm

WEB DESK: A 19-minute video trend circulating on social media for more than a week has plunged Assamese influencer Dhunu Joni into a vortex of controversy, speculation, and intense online harassment, raising urgent questions about deepfake technology and digital abuse.

The firestorm began when claims of a leaked private video involving Joni from India, a popular content creator from Nalbari known for her music and cultural posts, spread rapidly across platforms. The hashtags #DhunuMMS and #AssamViralGirl have since fueled a wave of gossip and cyberbullying, transitioning the story from rumor to a full-blown digital crisis. Slowly the questionable posts are also being removed.

Central to the growing backlash is the video’s questionable authenticity. Several cyber analysts who have reviewed the clip suggest it may be a sophisticated AI-generated deepfake, pointing to technical inconsistencies like flawed face mapping. These concerns were amplified by an unverified statement attributed to Joni that simply read, “AI has ruined my life,” highlighting the potential weaponization of technology against public figures.

Complicating matters further are unverified and conflicting reports about the identity of the man in the video, with speculation wildly swinging from a local schoolteacher to a family member. The Assam Education Department has formally denied launching any probe into school staff in connection with the case, distancing official channels from the online allegations. Similarly, images purporting to show the individuals in wedding attire remain unconfirmed.

Amid the chaos, Dhunu Joni has vanished from her social media accounts since late November, a disappearance that has only intensified the rumor mill. Her absence reflects the severe personal toll of the incident, transforming a local influencer’s life into a national case study on privacy violations and the dangerous speed at which unverified content can trigger real-world harm.

The incident has sparked a broader conversation about the ethical boundaries of digital content, the need for robust verification mechanisms, and the devastating impact of cyberbullying in the age of artificial intelligence.