Puri: Shri Jagannath temple authorities in Puri have formally filed a police complaint against a social media account for spreading AI-generated images and videos of Lord Jagannath, causing widespread anger among devotees in and outside Odisha.
“We have noticed that unacceptable AI-generated photos and videos of Lord Jagannath have been posted on social media. These objectionable materials are being spread by a person using the handle ‘vishvrajcreation’,” Shree Jagannath Temple Authority (SJTA) said in a statement.
A special security officer of the temple administration on Monday filed a complaint against the account at Sinhadwar police station, highlighting that its contents deeply hurt the religious sentiments of devotees and have caused serious resentment.
Temple officials pointed out that in previous incidents, actual images were taken and disseminated on shrine grounds without permission, but this is the first time that artificial intelligence has been misused to create content that defames a god.
One particularly controversial video depicts a crane pouring milk on Lord Jagannath in front of a temple, a scene that Jagannath culture experts said was completely fabricated and had no basis in the temple’s long-standing traditions.
Notably, the Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC), the apex body governing the 12th-century temple, recently decided to amend the existing legal provisions to make such activities illegal and punishable.
