Korean election authorities detected 129 AI-generated deepfake videos and images violating new election laws during the lead-up to Korea's parliamentary elections, with concerns mounting about AI-generated disinformation threatening democratic processes.
With less than 50 days remaining until Korea's parliamentary elections in April, the National Election Commission (NEC) detected 129 pieces of AI-generated media content from January 29 to the end of the reporting week that violated newly revised election laws. The law, taking effect on January 29, prohibits the use of deepfakes for electoral campaigning purposes, with penalties of up to seven years in prison or fines of 10 million won ($7,499) for offenders. The report cites specific examples of deepfake misuse, including an AI-generated video during the 2022 provincial elections that depicted President Yoon Suk Yeol endorsing a local candidate from the ruling party, and an AI-generated robocall in New Hampshire impersonating U.S. President Joe Biden advising voters not to vote in the presidential primary. Experts warn that the speed of deepfake production far exceeds the NEC's verification capabilities, with Professor Kim Myuhng-joo noting that 'the speed of production of believable fakes through deepfake technologies is much faster than that of the NEC's verification process.' The continuous evolution of deepfake technology poses additional challenges for detection and mitigation. The NEC has implemented a step-by-step verification process to review, investigate and take action on illegality rather than relying on specific company programs.
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