This text was published by EDMO Ireland, one of fifteen EDMO Hubs.
EDMO Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien appeared on RTÉ Six One News yesterday to discuss the latest and most sophisticated example of AI-generated election disinformation to circulate during the presidential campaign.
The video, which appeared late Tuesday night after the RTÉ Prime Time election debate, mimicked the format of RTÉ’s Nine O’Clock News. It purported to show presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin announcing that presidential candidate Catherine Connolly had withdrawn from the race, followed by AI-generated footage of Connolly herself appearing to confirm the false announcement. The fabricated broadcast then cut to fake clips of RTÉ Political Correspondent Paul Cunningham, who appeared to claim that the election had been cancelled and that Heather Humphreys would become president by default.