AI-generated deepfake videos spread political disinformation in Bangladesh without platform intervention

Summary

AI-generated videos are spreading disinformation online in Bangladesh ahead of the 13th national election. A video featuring a woman resembling Rikta, a garment worker who lost her arm in the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, falsely accused a political party of fraud and was shared over 21,000 times on the Uttarbanga Television Facebook page. The video, uploaded on 10 January, was identified as AI-generated after fact-checking by Prothom Alo. The Representation of the People Order prohibits the use of AI to create misleading content during elections, but such content continues to circulate. The Bangladesh Army issued a warning on 14 January about AI-generated videos misrepresenting military personnel, but the videos remain online. Authorities have yet to take action, despite the potential for such content to incite violence or confusion among voters.