Yoon Suk-yeol presidential election candidate deepfake

South Korean politician Yoon Suk-yeol has become the world's first 'deepfake candidate' to win a presidential election, beating rival Lee Jae-myung in a tight race.

'AI Yoon''s team turned to avatars and short-form videos to explain policy ideas and lampoon his rival in a bid to win over younger voters.

However, some voters have complained that it is an inaccurate physical representation and paints an untrue political picture of Yoon. Others have pointed out the potential for misuse of deepfakes in the form of mis- and disinformation.

AFP says South Korea's election monitor allowed AI candidates to campaign on the condition deepfake technology is clearly identified, and does not spread misinformation.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA suggests that real humans can easily fall for deepfake faces and tend to interpret them as more trustworthy than the real thing.