Crackdown against elements maligning people through immoral videos: Rana Sanaullah

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to launch a crackdown against those spreading obscene and inappropriate videos on social media to defame the people.

In a statement on Friday, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanullah said: "The prime minister has directed that such content cannot be tolerated and we will arrest those who spread immoral content on social media.”

The government's announcement came after former prime minister Imran Khan’s statement that his opponents have hired companies that are preparing for his character assassination.

The interior minister said social media will not be allowed to be used for mudslinging others. He said such incidents will be curbed wherein the material is used for blackmailing.

He said those involved in criminal activities will be dealt with iron hands and instructions have been given to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other agencies.

“We will wipe out those who spread such filth, including immoral videos and pictures,” Rana Sanaullah said.

Deep fake videos

In the interview aired earlier this week, the PTI chairman maintained that the Sharifs have made preparations to launch a character assassination drive against him after Eid.

"Now that Eid is over, you will see they are fully prepared for my character assassination. They have hired companies that are readying the material on this count,” he said, adding that he had to face mafias, the biggest of which was the Sharif mafia.

The former premier mentioned that they [Sharifs] always resort to attacking on a personal level because they have been indulging in corruption for the last 35 years. “When someone talks about their corruption, they attack their character,” he added.

Regarding the campaign against Jemima Goldsmith, he said: “My ex-wife was also targeted in the past and a campaign was run against her, accusing her of being part of the Jewish lobby. Likewise, a false case was filed against her, accusing her of exporting antique tiles from the country”.

The former premier addressed the issue of his character assassination amid repeated warnings and cautioning by PTI-backed social media accounts regarding what it termed “deep fake videos”.

Such videos use a form of artificial intelligence called deep learning to create life-like but fake videos of people.

Similarly, the social media platforms opposed to him are also discussing this matter from different angles while some have regretted this "element" in the political arena and want an end to it.