Fake propaganda using Sunil Gavaskar's name can now land you in jail as Delhi High Court makes landmark ruling in social media era

Social media controls a large part of our lives, especially in the fields of sports and entertainment. Celebrities are mercilessly trolled and also praised in unlimited volumes depending on the phase they are going through. The biggest problem in social media is the quantity of fake news and agendas that are in play. Sunil Gavaskar, though, is no longer going to be affected by this negativity.

On Tuesday (December 23), Gavaskar became the first Indian sportsperson to get legal protection of his personality rights, courtesy the Delhi High Court ruling. What this means is that nobody can churn our fake news or endorsements in his name without his permission. In short, any form of digital and commercial exploitation of Gavaskar's name, personality and career is now a punishable offence.

The court ruling has given an ultimatum of 72 hours to those who have misused Gavaskar's name or images for personal or commercial gain to delete their posts. Once this deadline of 72 hours ends, legal action can be taken against those people who have failed to follow the deadline diktat.

"Sunil Gavaskar is the first cricketer and sportsperson whose publicity and personality rights have been protected by the Delhi High Court. There were many false videos and quotes attributed to him that were, in fact, misrepresentations because they were not his," said advocate Gopal Jain in a video posted by ANI.

"The court has directed that all those quotes be removed and taken down. Likewise, many merchandisers and sellers were selling products with his name, image, and autograph, which was not autographed by him, which obviously misleads viewers and users who think it's a well-autographed product. The court has directed those sellers to remove it from the various platforms where they were selling it... We have gone to the court under the umbrella of personality and publicity rights... The court has given a 72-hour deadline for them to do it... We have given illustrative examples of deep fakes and videos and quotes which were not his, as well as some images which were obscene or distasteful and vulgar. Those examples have also been included in the court petition."

Gavaskar's decision is a landmark move in social media era, considering the high-pressure environment that these channels create on sports personalities. This could set the precedent for more sportspersons, especially Indian cricketers, to follow Gavaskar's path to ensure a clean environment, not just for themselves but also for the social media fraternity in general.

With social media driving monetisation through the reach of its users, fake news and propaganda has been a very active tool for people to make money at the cost of a celebrity's life. The more the spice and drama in posts, higher is the potential reach for a user, thereby creating a spike in wealth creation through social media.