The National Election Commission filed a complaint against a person identified as A for creating and distributing a malicious deepfake video to cause a candidate to lose.
The National Election Commission said on the 1st that it filed a complaint with investigative authorities against a person identified as A (operator of YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels) on suspicion of violating Article 82-8, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act for producing and posting deepfake videos to cause candidates in the June 3 local elections and the National Assembly by-elections and rerun elections to lose.
From late April to mid-May, a person identified as A is suspected of producing deepfake videos containing false information and slander about six candidates for metropolitan/provincial governor and National Assembly races and posting them on social media multiple times.
The video in question shows citizens hurling expletives at a candidate during a street campaign. The National Election Commission repeatedly asked A to delete it, but A reportedly did not comply.
The National Election Commission said, "The act of spreading deepfake videos has a very large ripple effect and can cause irreparable harm to candidates," and added, "We are responding swiftly and sternly to acts that hinder voters' proper judgment and undermine the fairness of elections."