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Deepfake electioneering sparks AI ‘return’ of controversial dictator

Indonesia has experienced the impact of deepfake electioneering with a message from a dictator who ruled the country for more than 30 years.

The former military general opened the address with the words, “I am Suharto, the second president of Indonesia,” but it was a political communication from beyond the grave as he died in 2008, aged 86. As reported by CNN, the artificial intelligence(AI) powered fake video has been viewed more than 4.7 million times on X since it was launched, with the viral clip gaining further traction across TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. “The video was made to remind us how important our votes are in the upcoming election,” said Erwin Aksa, deputy chairman of Golkar which is not directly contesting the presidential poll with its own candidate.

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