Deepfake recordings depict Keir Starmer abusing staff
Occurred: October 2023
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A deepfake audio recording appearing to depict the leader of the UK Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, swearing at a party staffer raised concerns about the underhand use of synthetic disinformation in politics.
The audio clip was posted on X, formerly Twitter, during the first day of the Labour Party Conference and was quickly identified as a hoax by MPs from across the political spectrum.Β
Though X's policies explicitly state that users 'may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media,' it did not prevent the clip being widely circulated. However, most copies have since been removed.
The incident intensified apprehensions about the risk of synthetic media in politics, and came hot on the heels of another incident involving a deepfake audio during the Slovakian election targeting their Opposition Leader.
Deepfake
Deepfakes (a portmanteau of 'deep learning' and 'fake') are images, videos, or audio which are edited or generated using artificial intelligence tools, and which may depict real or non-existent people. They are a type of synthetic media.
Source: Wikipedia π
Operator:
Developer:
Country: United Kingdom
Sector: Politics
Purpose: Damage reputation
Technology: Deepfake - audio, video; Machine learning
Issue: Impersonation; Mis/disinformation; Transparency
Related π
South Korea presidential election candidate deepfakes
Deepfake audio recording claims opposition leaders tried to rig Slovakian election
Page info
Type: Incident
Published: October 2023