'Malicious deepfake': Condemnation of AI video falsely showing Catherine Connolly ending campaign

The video, which falsely shows Catherine Connolly announcing the end of her campaign, was seen tens of thousands of times on both Facebook and X

Catherine Connolly. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/ RollingNews.ie

Independent presidential election candidate Catherine Connolly has condemned a “malicious deepfake” video which purported to show her ending her campaign.

Ms Connolly said the video was a fabrication and a “disgraceful attempt to mislead voters and undermine our democracy”.

The video was circulated on social media platforms overnight, being seen tens of thousands of times on both Facebook and X. It has since been removed by Meta, after concerns were raised by the Electoral Commission.

It shows AI-generated clips of RTÉ presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin, Ms Connolly, and RTÉ political correspondent Paul Cunningham. The AI-generated Ms Ní Bheoláin announces Ms Connolly has withdrawn from the race.

It then cuts to an AI-generated Ms Connolly, who says: “It is with great regret that I announce the withdrawal of my candidacy and the ending of my campaign.” 

The video then moves to the AI-generated Mr Cunningham, who says that with Ms Connolly’s withdrawal, the presidential election has been cancelled and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys would become president automatically.

It can be identified as an AI deepfake due to the unnatural movements of the mouths of the AI-generated people, as well as a disembodied voice of a purported supporter of Ms Connolly.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Connolly said: “I will not be distracted. I will continue my campaign in every county, meeting people and making the case for a hopeful, inclusive presidency.” 

Her campaign confirmed they had reported the video to social media platforms on which it appeared, while also lodging a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission.

“If you see this video, do not share it — report it,” Ms Connolly said. “The surest reply to lies is to vote.” 

Ms Connolly’s campaign called for social media platforms to act quickly to remove fake election content, as well as clearly label media generated by AI and to cooperate with Irish authorities by retaining metadata and helping with investigations.

The video itself was first posted to Facebook by an account named RTÉ News AI, which has since been suspended. However, despite it being removed by Meta, the video can still be viewed on X.

In a statement, the Electoral Commission said it became aware of the AI-generated video on Tuesday evening.

“Using pre-agreed communications channels with platforms, we escalated the issue immediately to flag these videos with a request that they be urgently reviewed, and I understand that the relevant accounts have since been suspended,” a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said.

The spokesperson urged people to check whether the information they are receiving about elections is true, and to consider alternative sources to check factual accuracy.

“Within the Electoral Reform Act 2022, An Coimisiún is provided with specific functions to provide, to the public, information on electoral processes (including referendums) and to encourage participation, by the public, in the electoral and democratic processes of the State,” they added.

However, the spokesperson said that powers that would allow the Electoral Commission to use strong powers to compel social media firms to remove disinformation impacting elections have not yet commenced.

This is due to concerns highlighted by the European Commission.

Both Meta and X have been contacted for comment.