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A deepfake video created by a satirist circulated on social media in September 2023, falsely depicting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. The incident highlights the growing use of synthetic media in political campaigns to create disinformation and distract from substantive issues. Experts warn that the increasing accessibility of these tools, combined with a polarized political climate, poses a significant threat to democratic norms and the ability of the public to discern truth.
In early September 2023, a deepfake video created by C3PMeme circulated on social media, showing Ron DeSantis falsely claiming he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. DeSantis did not actually suspend his campaign until January 21, 2024.
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
The AI-generated video fabricated a false concession speech by Ron DeSantis, directly spreading misleading information to voters.
The deepfake video was created and distributed on social media to influence public opinion and manipulate political processes during the 2024 US Presidential Election.
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 deepfake video was intentionally created and posted by a human creator (C3PMeme) using deployed AI generation tools post-deployment.
Added categories peak at 4: Severe (Epistemic Harm, Inferred)
A satirical deepfake video of Governor Ron DeSantis falsely announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race circulated on social media. While quickly debunked, the incident highlights the evolving capability of synthetic media to inject disinformation into democratic processes, though this specific event posed a minor, manageable threat to national security.
The AI system was used as a tool by the creator C3PMeme to generate a deepfake video of Ron DeSantis. The system performed a specific, well-defined function of video generation based on direct human inputs.
Limited Risk: The report describes AI-generated content (a deepfake), which under the EU AI Act falls under Limited Risk, requiring transparency obligations to ensure users are aware the content is synthetic.
The AI system was used to generate a synthetic video and accompanying audio of Ron DeSantis announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race.
The report clearly details the specific incident of the DeSantis deepfake, its creator, the platforms it was shared on, and the broader implications for the 2024 election. There is minimal ambiguity regarding the events.
None. The incident is clearly a political deepfake intended for satire or political commentary.
Technology
Readily Available Deepfake Tools
Tools to produce synthetic video and audio are easily accessible to anyone.
Lack of Detection Tools
There are insufficient technical tools to counter and detect deepfakes.
Human Factors
Fractured Political Climate
Audiences are highly polarized and ready to believe fake negative news.
Desire to Build Buzz
Creators and consultants share fakes to generate attention and disarray.
Process and Methods
Campaigns Embracing Fakes
Political campaigns use AI-manipulated media, normalizing its use.
Management
Platform Unwillingness to Moderate
Social media platforms lack the interest or will to curtail disinformation.
Lack of Platform Capacity
Platforms do not dedicate enough resources or capability to stop deepfakes.
AI system involved
An AI system was involved, but the reports do not identify it.
Identified by automated extraction; can differ from the alleged developers above.
