The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau of Latvia (KNAB) admits that political organisations, as well as persons not affiliated with political parties, may use AI-generated materials during the pre-election campaign period to, inter alia, deliberately misinform potential voters and influence their opinion. KNAB calls on the public to critically assess the information available in the public domain and to verify the credibility of the information.
The risk identified by KNAB is based on the precedents of the USA, Poland, Slovakia and several other countries where AI tools have been used in the context of elections. According to KNAB, there is a possibility that artificial intelligence could also be used during the pre-election campaign period for the upcoming European Parliament elections. Artificial intelligence offers a wide range of possibilities for content creation. The most typical manipulation during the pre-election campaign period could involve synthesising the voices of parliamentary candidates or including their portraits in images or videos, simulating conversations or situations that do not correspond to the truth.
While material created with AI tools can be difficult to identify, it is possible to see the signs of artificially created content. The portraits of people created by AI are characterised by unnatural grimaces, asymmetrical body parts and proportions, and lips that do not match the spoken text. The content is also characterised by phrases atypical of the Latvian language, and unnatural conversational manners.
Acting Deputy Director for Strategy and Policy Planning of the KNAB Sandijs Vectēvs: "The negative experience abroad with manipulated public opinion by publishing false and AI-generated information about parliamentary candidates, as well as the current geopolitical circumstances, encourage us to be proactive ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections. The run-up to elections has always been a sensitive time, and modern technology opens up new risks for fair and democratic elections. That is why citizens must be critical of the credibility of publicly available information on a daily basis and especially during the pre-election campaign period."
KNAB reminds that campaigners, including political organisations, parliamentary candidates and persons not affiliated with political parties, must comply with various restrictions and prohibitions during the pre-election campaigning period, including the prohibition of hidden campaign. The prohibition on hidden campaigning also applies to paid-for content that uses artificial intelligence and does not identify the payer of the publication.
KNAB points out that the pre-election campaign period in Latvia lasts for 120 days. It started on February 10 and will run until the European Parliament election day – June 8.
Pre-election campaigning is monitored by KNAB, the National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP) and the State Language Centre. KNAB monitors pre-election campaigning restrictions and prohibitions pertaining to pre-election spending limits, use of administrative resources for pre-election campaigning, and hidden campaigning online, including social networks, public spaces, and in the press. NEPLP monitors pre-election campaigning on television and radio, and the State Language Centre monitors the use of the official language during the pre-election period.