Indian political operatives used AI deepfake technology to create fake videos and audio recordings of political candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, offering services to manipulate speeches, create compromising content, and conduct millions of AI-generated voice calls to voters.
During India's 2024 Lok Sabha elections, multiple companies offered deepfake services to political candidates for campaign purposes. An India Today investigation exposed operations by companies like The Digital Publicity, Obiyan Infotech, and Merakii Group, which charged between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh to create AI-generated videos and audio content. These services included creating fake intimate videos to damage opponents' reputations, manipulating election speeches, and generating AI voice clones for mass calling campaigns. Companies like Polymath Synthetic Media Solutions and iToConnect conducted over 50 million AI-generated voice calls in two months leading up to the elections. The deepfakes were created using subscription-based apps costing $25-30, with operators claiming the content was undetectable to average viewers. Political consultant Divyendra Singh Jadoun's company Polymath charged $1,500 for digital avatars and conducted campaigns for multiple politicians across different parties. The investigation revealed a $60 million industry using AI to reach voters across India's 22 official languages, with some companies making calls in the voices of deceased politicians to endorse candidates.
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.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed