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During the 2023 Turkish presidential election, various political actors and alleged foreign entities utilized AI-generated deepfakes and manipulated media to influence the electoral outcome. These tactics included the release of a fabricated sex tape that forced candidate Muharrem İnce to withdraw from the race, and the presentation of doctored videos at campaign rallies to falsely link opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to terrorist organizations. The incident highlights the significant impact of AI-powered disinformation on democratic processes and voter trust.
During Turkey's 2023 presidential election, reportedly manipulated and allegedly AI-generated videos, audio, and images were used to smear candidates, purportedly link opposition figures to terrorist groups, and circulate a purported sex tape that reportedly contributed to presidential candidate Muharrem İnce’s withdrawal. These incidents reportedly misled voters, disrupted campaigning, and altered the electoral field.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns, malicious surveillance, or targeted and sophisticated automated censorship and propaganda, with the aim of manipulating political processes, public opinion, and behavior.
Also classified as
A targeted deepfake sex tape was used to humiliate candidate Muharrem Ince, forcing him to withdraw from the presidential race.
The incident represents a coordinated, at-scale disinformation campaign using AI-generated deepfakes and manipulated media to influence the Turkish presidential election and manipulate public opinion.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
The incident was caused by human actors intentionally deploying AI deepfake and voice-cloning technologies post-deployment to manipulate public opinion and political outcomes.
Added categories peak at 4: Severe (Epistemic Harm, Indirect)
During the 2023 Turkish presidential election, political actors deployed AI-generated deepfakes and voice clones to manipulate public opinion. The campaign successfully forced candidate Muharrem Ince to withdraw and falsely linked opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu to terrorist groups, demonstrating a severe threat to democratic sovereignty and information security.
The AI systems (deepfake generators, voice-cloning software) were used as tools by human actors to perform specific, well-defined functions of generating synthetic media based on direct inputs, without exhibiting autonomous goal-directed planning or agency.
Limited Risk: The incident involves AI-generated content such as deepfakes, which pose a moderate risk and require specific transparency obligations to ensure users are informed of their synthetic nature.
The primary AI technologies described in the reports were used to generate deepfake videos (the sex tape) and clone voices (Kilicdaroglu's English speech) to manipulate public perception.
The reports provide detailed, consistent, and cross-verified accounts from multiple reputable news agencies and fact-checking organizations (like Teyit) regarding the deployment of deepfakes and cheapfakes during the election, the candidates affected, and the political consequences.
The sex tape could be interpreted as a conventional smear campaign using traditional editing techniques rather than advanced AI, as its technical provenance was not independently verified by the reporting agencies.
Technology
Accessible Deepfake Generation Tools
AI tools allowed easy generation of realistic fake voices and videos.
Algorithmic Search Bias
Google algorithms prioritized manipulated videos in search results.
Dark Web Cyberwarfare
Deals with hackers to spread deepfakes and hack opposition sites.
Data Inputs
Decontextualized Media Splicing
Splicing genuine footage with terrorist videos to create false narratives.
Out-of-Context Training Data
Training AI on politician voices to generate unauthorized translations.
Use of Foreign Pornographic Footage
Doctored footage from foreign websites used to fabricate character smears.
Human Factors
Lack of Critical Thinking
Polarized voters accepted manipulated media without verifying its source.
Exploitation of Cognitive Biases
Disinformation targeted voters' existing political and nationalistic biases.
Public Susceptibility to Satire
Satirical AI content was taken out of context and believed to be real.
Process and Methods
Overwhelmed Fact-Checking Teams
Small independent teams could not keep up with viral AI-generated content.
Ineffective Content Verification
Platforms lacked real-time verification to stop deepfakes before going viral.
Cryptographic Financing of Hacks
Using Bitcoin to pay dark web hackers for deepfake dissemination.
Management
Political Gain Over Truth
Candidates knowingly promoted debunked cheapfakes for campaign advantages.
State-Sponsored Disinformation
Government directorates allegedly coordinated dark web deepfake campaigns.
Media Control and Censorship
State control of 90 percent of media prevented objective deepfake reporting.
Regulatory Environment
Weaponized Disinformation Laws
Laws were used to silence opposition journalists rather than curb deepfakes.
Lack of Platform Accountability
Social media platforms complied with censorship requests, limiting truth.
Absence of Foreign Interference Laws
Weak protections against state-backed Russian bot and troll campaigns.
AI system involved
Identified by automated extraction; can differ from the alleged developers above.
