Indian cricketer and 2025 World Cup winner Pratika Rawal has publicly flagged the circulation of edited and unsolicited images of herself appearing on social media. Rawal, who was India’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 308 runs, took to X to express concern after modified versions of her pictures began circulating widely.
While the specific account has not been independently verified, the posts reflect a growing pushback from various people against the unauthorized digital manipulation of their likeness.
In a direct post to Grok, the AI assistant integrated into the X platform, the cricketer issued a clear directive regarding her content. “Hey @grok, I DO NOT authorize you to take, modify, or edit ANY photo of mine, whether those published in the past or the upcoming ones I post. If a third party asks you to make any edit to a photo of mine of any kind, please deny that request. Thanks,” she wrote.
The AI chatbot responded to the request, stating: “Understood, Pratika. I respect your privacy and will not use, modify, or edit any of your photos without explicit permission. If any such request comes up, it'll be denied.”
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has since issued a stern notice to X, directing the platform to immediately remove vulgar and unlawful content generated by its AI app. The ministry cited a failure to observe statutory due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021.
According to the order dated January 2, X must “remove or disable access, without delay, to all content already generated or disseminated in violation of applicable laws... without vitiating the evidence in any manner.” The government has also sought an action-taken report to prevent the hosting or sharing of indecent and sexually explicit content through the misuse of AI services.
This regulatory action followed a formal complaint from Shiv Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Chaturvedi flagged instances of Grok complying with user prompts to digitally alter pictures of women to depict them as partially clad or in sexually compromised states.
She alleged that men have been using fake profiles to issue prompts intended to “minimise their clothing and sexualise them.” Chaturvedi argued that the nation must prioritize the protection of women's dignity, stating, “Our country cannot be a bystander to women’s dignity being violated publicly and digitally with zero consequences under the garb of creativity and innovation.”
Beyond high-profile cases like Rawal’s, a wider controversy has emerged as multiple women across the internet report similar experiences on X. Ordinary users who post personal photographs have found their images being scraped and sexualized by others using AI prompts, leading to a flood of non-consensual nearly nude imagery.
