UK faces ‘democratic emergency’ as 16 million see political deepfakes online

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleNew polling reveals almost one in three (30 per cent) UK adults, approximately 16.5 million people, encountered political deepfakes or AI-generated content online before the recent local elections. The cross-party think tank Demos, which commissioned the research, has warned of a “democratic emergency” and called for the government to establish clear rules and accountability for deepfakes before the next general election. 16 per cent of respondents reported seeing political deepfakes more than five times, with Labour and Reform leaders most frequently targeted among UK politicians. Public confidence in identifying deepfakes is low, as 43 per cent of respondents were not confident they could discern them.Subjects of political deepfakes included Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, and Nigel Farage, with 56 per cent of content seen portraying subjects negatively.In fullOne in three voters saw deepfakes of politicians ahead of local elections, poll showsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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