Deepfake technology, initially popularized for comedic or creative purposes, has come a long way in just a few years. AI programs can now study photos, videos, and audio recordings to create fake content that looks and sounds real. Over 85,000 deepfake videos have been circulating online, and the numbers are climbing faster.
These tools are becoming cheaper and easier to use, making it possible for almost anyone to create a deepfake. This is dangerous, especially when it comes to politics. While we are going around with our lives, a lot is happening behind the scenes, without our knowledge, that might disrupt democracy and trick voters. While the next US Presidential Elections are a long time coming, remember politics takes no break. This isn’t science fiction; it’s already happening.
Messing Up With Past Events
We’ve already seen the harm deepfakes and other manipulated media can cause. In 2022, a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared online, showing him urging citizens to surrender to Russia. While experts quickly proved it was fake, the damage was already done. It confused people and made it harder to trust what they saw and heard.
Closer home, during the 2020 elections, a video of Speaker Nancy Pelosi went viral. It wasn’t a deepfake, but the footage was slowed down to make her appear drunk or incoherent. Even though it was a simple edit, it showed how easy it is to spread misinformation and change public perception. Now imagine the chaos that a believable deepfake could cause during the 2028 elections.
Let’s learn how AI deepfakes can skew 2028 Election Results.
Creating Echo Chambers And Polarizing Voters
Deepfakes are dangerous because they could be used to amplify political echo chambers, where individuals only consume information that confirms their existing beliefs. In the 2016 US Presidential election, Russian interference used social media to spread fake news and create tension between voters of specific ideologies. Deepfakes could take this a step further and polarize voters.
Imagine a video showing a candidate making racist or hateful comments. Or creating a deepfake video to distort the truth and spread lies. Even if it’s fake, it could spread like wildfire on social media, reaching millions of people before anyone realizes it’s not real. For instance the faked AI images of Donald Trump standing with black people to encourage African Americans to vote Republican in the 2024 US elections. Once that kind of damage is done, it’s almost impossible to undo.
Weaponizing Misinformation
A survey in 2022 found that 43% of Americans struggle to tell the difference between real and deepfake videos. Deepfakes could be used to spread lies and hurt candidates right before the election. Of the 85,000 deepfakes circulating online, over 99% are pornographic deepfakes of women. An opposition-party politician in Bangladesh, Rumeen Farhana’s AI deepfake photo in a bikini on social media shocked the country. Imagine a pornographic deepfake of a woman candidate can create massive confusion and mistrust among voters leading to irreparable damage both to the party image and the election results.
Targeting Election Security
Deepfake technology could mess with election security in a big way. Here’s how:
- Fake Announcements: A deepfake might falsely say polling stations are closed, keeping voters from showing up. For instance, President Joe Biden’s deepfake voice discouraged voters in the state of New Hampshire from coming to the polls in January 2024.
- Phony Scandals: A fake video could show a candidate involved in illegal activity, ruining their reputation overnight and derailing their campaign.
- Foreign Interference: Foreign entities could use deepfakes to create chaos and distrust in the U.S. election system, much like the misinformation campaigns seen in 2016 and 2020.
The Role of Social Media
Social media platforms are the main places where deepfakes spread. According to Statista, 50% of Gen Z and 44% of millennials consume news on social media. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are already struggling to stop fake news. Deepfakes make their job even harder.
While companies like Meta and Twitter are developing tools to detect fake content, deepfake technology is improving at an alarming rate often staying one step ahead.
International Elections Where Deepfakes Were Used
Deepfake technology has been used in many countries during their election campaigns.
- On the Taiwanese election day in 2024, a Chinese Community Party-affiliated group posted an AI-generated audio of a prominent politician and Foxconn owner Terry Gou, who dropped out of the Taiwanese election, supporting another candidate.
- In India’s 2024 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used deepfake technology to create campaign videos in different languages, reaching millions of voters. While these weren’t malicious, they showed how easily deepfakes can be used to influence elections.
- A fake image of French President Emmanuel Macron tweeting about migration and falsely attributed to BBC News went viral in an attempt to sway public opinion before the French Presidential elections in 2022.
- In the Brazilian election campaign, the voice of the journalist Renata Vasconcellas was almost perfectly reproduced in an attempt to deliver false news.
In the US, deepfakes could be used in similar ways, especially in battleground states where a few thousand votes can decide the outcome.
Fighting The Deepfake Threat
Some organizations are working hard to fight deepfakes. Tools like Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative and Microsoft’s Video Authenticator are designed to detect and label fake content. The Department of Homeland Security is also studying how deepfakes could impact national security.
Even with these efforts, it is important to teach people about deepfakes. People need to know how to spot deepfakes and verify the information they see online. To mitigate the risks posed by deepfakes in the 2028 election, we need a multi-pronged approach:
- New Laws And Regulation: The government should pass stringent laws to punish people who create and circulate malicious deepfakes.
- Detection Tools: Invest in building advanced AI detection tools that can identify and red-flag deepfakes before they spread.
- Public Awareness: Voters should be educated on how to recognize fake videos and report them.
Deepfakes are a real threat, but with the right tools and knowledge, we can protect the 2028 election and ensure every vote truly counts.
