During Turkey's 2023 presidential election campaign, AI-generated deepfake videos and manipulated content were used to spread disinformation, including a fabricated video linking opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu to Kurdish militants and an alleged deepfake sex tape that forced candidate Muharrem Ince to withdraw from the race.
In the lead-up to Turkey's May 14, 2023 presidential election, multiple instances of AI-generated and manipulated content were used to spread disinformation. President Erdogan displayed a manipulated video at a campaign rally on May 7 that falsely showed his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu alongside PKK leader Murat Karayilan, created by combining footage from Kilicdaroglu's genuine campaign video with unrelated 2021 footage of Karayilan. The video was presented without disclosure of its manipulated nature to an estimated 1.7 million rally attendees. Additionally, presidential candidate Muharrem Ince withdrew from the race on May 11 after an alleged deepfake sex tape was circulated online, which he claimed used footage from 'an Israeli porn site.' Kilicdaroglu accused Russia of orchestrating deepfake interference in the election, citing evidence of foreign hackers being paid in Bitcoin to create manipulated content. Turkish fact-checking organization Teyit debunked over 150 election-related false claims during the campaign period, with many involving AI-generated or manipulated content. The incidents occurred during one of Turkey's most consequential elections, with polls showing a close race between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu that ultimately required a runoff election.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns, malicious surveillance, or targeted and sophisticated automated censorship and propaganda, with the aim of manipulating political processes, public opinion, and behavior.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed