Local body elections: No deepfakes allowed, Election Commission imposes strict rules on AI campaigns

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Election Commission has imposed strict surveillance on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in local body election campaigns. State Information Commissioner A. Shajahan said strong action will be taken against the use of fake images, voice messages, and misinformation created using modern technologies. He added that candidates, political parties, and campaigners must ensure the credibility of the campaign and maintain fairness in the election process.

The Commission assessed that deepfakes and synthetic content used in campaigns could mislead public opinion and affect the election process. Clear guidelines on this have now been issued.

Deepfake videos, audio clips, misinformation, content insulting women, the use of children in campaigns, and material promoting cruelty to animals have been completely banned. Any AI-generated or digitally altered campaign content must include an "AI Generated" label. The label must be shown clearly- on videos as an overlay, covering at least 10% of images, and during the first 10% of any audio content.

The name of the person or organisation that created the content must also be disclosed in the description. Altering someone’s appearance, voice, or identity in a misleading way, or distributing such content without permission, is not allowed. If such content is found or reported on the official social media platforms of political parties, it must be removed within three hours. Those responsible must be warned, and fake accounts or illegal content should be reported to the respective platforms. Political parties must also keep internal records of all AI-generated campaign materials, including the date of creation and details of the creator, according to the Commission’s guidelines.