Deepfakes featuring UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have appeared on multiple social media platforms in the lead-up to the upcoming general election, raising concerns about political manipulation and electoral integrity.
Deepfakes Target UK Prime Minister Ahead of General Election
Deepfakes featuring UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have surfaced on social media platforms TikTok, X, and Instagram, coinciding with the run-up to next week’s general election. These AI-generated videos are part of a broader trend identified by Google’s DeepMind research, which underscores political deepfakes as the most common misuse of generative AI technologies.
DeepMind’s analysis, conducted with Google’s R&D unit Jigsaw, reviewed approximately 200 misuse incidents between January 2023 and March 2024. The study revealed that creating realistic but false multimedia content is nearly twice as prevalent as text-based misinformation. Notably, 27% of malicious AI activities aimed at influencing public opinion, raising concerns about the potential impact on electoral integrity.
DeepMind researchers, including Nahema Marchal, emphasized the deceptive nature of these deepfakes, which often evade detection despite social media efforts to label or remove such content. Ardi Janjeva from The Alan Turing Institute highlighted the risk of AI-generated information distorting collective sociopolitical awareness, which could pose long-term threats to democratic processes.
The study also pointed out that many deepfakes and other AI-generated misuses are created using easily accessible tools, requiring minimal technical skill, thereby broadening the scope for potential misuse. This research aims to enhance the safety evaluations of AI models and guide industry stakeholders in understanding and mitigating emerging harms.