This file photo dated on July 23, 2018 shows an educational event in collaboration with social media site Facebook to raise awareness about "fake news" and the spread of misinformation at a school in Lucknow. (PHOTO / AFP)

NEW DELHI — Indian government has issued an advisory to social media intermediaries to identify misinformation and deepfakes, officials said Wednesday.

The advisory was issued by the federal Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Deepfake is a video of a person made by using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to digitally alter faces and bodies so that they appear to be someone else

"Ensure that due diligence is exercised, and reasonable efforts are made to identify misinformation and deepfakes, and in particular, information that violates the provisions of rules and regulations and/or user agreements," the ministry said.

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It further asked social media intermediaries to take swift actions in dealing with such cases.

"Remove any such content when reported within 36 hours of such reporting and ensure expeditious action ... and disable access to the content/information," the advisory said.

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Deepfake is a video of a person made by using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to digitally alter faces and bodies so that they appear to be someone else. It is typically done maliciously or to spread false information.