Spain’s People’s party published a political ad using AI deepfakes. The video showed likenesses of Pedro Sánchez’s wife and others linked to his Socialist party. They appeared to admit to wrongdoing like taking kickbacks or hiding jewellery. The ad was labelled as AI-generated in tiny, nearly transparent font. The Socialist party called it a colossal lie and intolerable. One person depicted filed a legal challenge for defamation and digital identity theft. Most legal experts said the ad was not illegal but questioned its ethics. The PP defended it as satire highlighting hypocrisy. The video sparked a wider debate on AI in political campaigns. Spain’s general election is on 29 November.
What changed
Political ads used real footage or staged content without AI manipulation.
What it unlocks
Creating political ads with AI-generated likenesses of real people to simulate confessions or statements.
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