‘Deepfake’ fears in the election: EC must take effective action
As the 13th national parliamentary election draws closer, concerns over disinformation and fake videos created using artificial intelligence (AI) are growing.
Recent elections held in countries such as the United States, India, Turkey, and Argentina have provided numerous examples of how dangerous AI-generated fake videos—or deepfakes—as well as cheapfakes produced by cheaply replicating media photo cards to spread false statements, can be.
In many cases, vested groups have created and circulated deepfakes and cheapfakes on social media, influencing election outcomes and even forcing elections to be postponed.
In a country like Bangladesh, where digital literacy is, quite literally, in a dire state, the risks are far greater—a warning long issued by fact-checking organisations and information technology experts.
Although the interim government and the Election Commission have repeatedly spoken about the risks of disinformation, deepfakes, and cheapfakes in elections, it would not be an exaggeration to say that little effective action has been taken in practice.
Taking advantage of this weakness, various groups are spreading disinformation against top leaders of political parties and public figures using their followers and bot armies—networks of Facebook pages and accounts created under fake identities. Fact-checking organisations report that at least 13 leaders from different political parties have already fallen victim to such disinformation.
Clear evidence of the spread of false information and video-based disinformation by various groups to influence elections and politics has emerged from an analysis by the fact-checking organisation Rumor Scanner.
Between October and December last year, the organisation identified 1,441 instances of misinformation, of which 956 were political in nature. The most widely used method of spreading false information was through fake videos.
Analysts view the spread of disinformation techniques such as deepfakes and cheapfakes in the digital sphere as a threat to elections, alongside conventional forms of electoral violence.
This is because AI-generated videos circulated on smartphone screens can easily shake voters’ trust. The Election Commission, the interim government, and political parties—all stakeholders—must recognise that deepfakes and cheapfakes pose a serious threat to the February election and to democracy itself, and must take realistic and effective measures accordingly. However, the Election Commission must take the lead from the front in the fight against disinformation.
The National Cyber Security Agency has formed a special cell to counter fake information, misleading content, and rumours until the national election. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is also monitoring the issue. But we believe that such isolated measures are insufficient to combat disinformation effectively.
What is needed is a coordinated and well-planned initiative involving the interim government, the Election Commission, law enforcement agencies, and fact-checking organisations. In most cases, organised groups are spreading fake videos, audio, and images through social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
Meanwhile, activists of the Awami League are also disseminating disinformation by forming groups on online platforms, including Telegram. Disinformation is being spread both from within the country and from abroad. Therefore, it is not enough merely to identify the accounts and pages spreading disinformation; it is essential to investigate who is behind them and bring those responsible under the law.
We believe that to protect elections and democracy from dangers such as deepfakes and cheapfakes, the amendments made to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) must be enforced strictly.
If any candidate or political party uses such tactics—clearly harmful to democracy—against their opponents, legal action must be taken. The government, the Election Commission, and political parties must also run targeted awareness campaigns to educate ordinary voters about the dangers and risks of deepfakes and cheapfakes, and how to identify them.