Gadkari sues Meta, X, Google over AI deepfake defamation

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has filed a defamation lawsuit in the Bombay High Court, seeking to remove allegedly false and abusive social media content that links him and his family to personal profits from the government's E20 ethanol-blending program. The legal action, filed on July 27, 2026, names social media giants Meta, X, and Google, along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications, and several anonymous users.

The minister's petition argues that a series of AI-generated deepfake videos, morphed images, fabricated quotes, and other posts falsely portray him as responsible for introducing and mandating E20 petrol and imply corruption and conflict of interest. Specifically, Gadkari contests allegations that his family, particularly his son, has derived undue financial benefits from the ethanol policy. In his filing, he stated the content constitutes targeted defamation that has crossed the line from legitimate political criticism.

A central argument in the suit is jurisdictional. Gadkari emphasizes that the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program, culminating in the E20 blend, is solely...