{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-02T07:19:17.052Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"electoral-commission","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-ireland-ai-deepfake-news-video-falsely-showed-presidential-candidate-withdrawing-complaint-to-electoral-commission","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The video appeared online on Tuesday night and showed an AI version of Connolly appearing to announce her withdrawal from Friday's election.'; 'The video appeared online on Tuesday night and mimicked an RTÉ news report'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'AI-generated footage then shows Ms Connolly purporting to say: “It is with great regret that I announce the withdrawal of my candidacy and the ending of my campaign.”'; 'Well, simply put, Friday’s election is now cancelled.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The video, which appeared last night on social media and mimicked an RTÉ Nine O’Clock News broadcast, purported to show presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin announcing Connolly’s withdrawal, followed by AI-generated footage of Connolly appearing to confirm it herself.'; 'The fake segment later cut to fabricated clips of RTÉ political correspondent Paul Cunningham claiming the election had been cancelled and that Heather Humphreys would become president by default.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'It shows AI-generated clips of RTÉ presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin, Ms Connolly, and RTÉ political correspondent Paul Cunningham.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A video mimicking an RTÉ News bulletin appeared on social media on the night of Tuesday 21 October 2025, showing a likeness of RTÉ presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin announcing Catherine Connolly's withdrawal from the presidential election, footage of Connolly appearing to confirm it, and a likeness of the RTÉ political correspondent saying the election was cancelled; each outlet describes the figures or footage as AI-generated.","causal_attribution":"Description of the video by four outlets that each describe its content; the video itself was not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Alan Smeaton, emeritus professor of computing at Dublin City University and a member of the Irish government's AI Advisory Council, told BBC Verify there were some \"minuscule clues\" that gave the video away.'; '\"There are slight over-pronunciations in the lips and mouths by both the Catherine Connolly and the RTÉ reporter representations.'; '\"There is a slight aura around the news reporter in the third shot, probably because the background is dynamic,\" he added.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Alan Smeaton, emeritus professor of computing at Dublin City University and a member of the government's AI Advisory Council, told BBC Verify that slight over-pronunciations in the lips and mouths of the Connolly and RTÉ reporter figures and a slight aura around the reporter gave the video away.","causal_attribution":"An examiner's observations of the recording as reported by BBC Verify; the basis for the AI attribution."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In a statement, the Electoral Commission said it became aware of the AI-generated video on Tuesday evening.'; '“Using pre-agreed communications channels with platforms, we escalated the issue immediately to flag these videos with a request that they be urgently reviewed, and I understand that the relevant accounts have since been suspended,” a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said.'; 'However, the spokesperson said that powers that would allow the Electoral Commission to use strong powers to compel social media firms to remove disinformation impacting elections have not yet commenced.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The Electoral Commission said it became aware of the AI-generated video on the evening of 21 October, escalated it to the platforms with a request for urgent review, and understood the accounts had been suspended; its spokesperson said its powers to compel platforms to remove election disinformation had not yet commenced.","causal_attribution":"The Electoral Commission's statement as reported by the Irish Examiner."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission over a \"malicious deep-fake\" AI video.'; 'Connolly called the video a \"disgraceful attempt to mislead voters and undermine our democracy\".'; 'Connolly's campaign team said they have reported the video to the social media platforms it appeared on.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'“The video is a fabrication. It is a disgraceful attempt to mislead voters and undermine our democracy. I will not be distracted.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Her campaign has reported the footage to social media platforms and filed a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission, requesting its removal and clear labelling as fake.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Her campaign confirmed they had reported the video to social media platforms on which it appeared, while also lodging a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Connolly called the video a fabrication and a disgraceful attempt to mislead voters and undermine democracy, and her campaign reported it to the platforms and lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission.","causal_attribution":"Connolly's statement and her campaign's account, relayed by four outlets (one origin)."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The video was posted to an account called RTÉ News AI.'; 'It was live for almost 12 hours and had been shared nearly 200 times before it was removed.'; 'Meta, which owns Facebook, removed the RTÉ News AI account on Wednesday after being contacted by the Irish Independent.'; 'The company said it does not allow content that impersonates or falsely represents people, brands, businesses or organisations.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The video was circulated on social media platforms overnight, being seen tens of thousands of times on both Facebook and X. It has since been removed by Meta, after concerns were raised by the Electoral Commission.'; 'The video itself was first posted to Facebook by an account named RTÉ News AI, which has since been suspended. However, despite it being removed by Meta, the video can still be viewed on X.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Meta removed the Facebook account RTÉ News AI that posted the video, saying it does not allow content that impersonates or falsely represents people or organisations; the video had been live for almost 12 hours.","causal_attribution":"Meta's confirmation as reported by The Irish Times; the Irish Examiner reports the removal as following concerns raised by the Electoral Commission."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The video, created using artificial intelligence tools, was viewed more than 160,000 times on Facebook before being taken down. It has also been removed from YouTube, who also removed the channel it was uploaded to.'; 'In a statement this evening confirming that the video had been taken down, a spokesperson for YouTube said:'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"YouTube removed the video and the channel it was uploaded to.","causal_attribution":"TheJournal.ie's report of YouTube's confirmation."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“An Coimisiún have contacted the platform concerned to understand the immediate measures they have taken in response to this incident and have reminded the platform of their obligations under the EU Digital Services Act relating to protecting the integrity of elections,” a spokesman said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Coimisiún na Meán contacted the platform concerned about the measures taken and reminded it of its Digital Services Act obligations on election integrity.","causal_attribution":"The regulator's spokesman as quoted by The Irish Times."}],"effects":[{"label":"presidential candidate shown in a fabricated news video announcing a withdrawal she never made; she called it an attempt to mislead voters and complained to the Electoral Commission","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxkn504lqpo","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original read in full; no translation.","independence_group":"bbc-news-ni"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/10/22/meta-removes-ai-video-purporting-to-show-catherine-connolly-quitting-presidential-race/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original read in full; no translation.","independence_group":"irish-times"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.thejournal.ie/article.php?id=6851912","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original read in full; no translation.","independence_group":"thejournal-ie"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41728776.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original read in full; no translation.","independence_group":"irish-examiner"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["public_life"],"unknowns":["Who made the video and which AI tool was used.","Whether the Electoral Commission complaint led to any further action, or whether the Gardaí investigated.","How many people saw the video; the outlets give different figures (almost 30,000, tens of thousands, more than 160,000).","Whether any voter was misled about the election."],"geography":{"basis":"The video concerned Ireland's presidential election, mimicked RTÉ News, and was reported to Ireland's Electoral Commission and removed by platforms at Irish authorities' request (Irish Examiner; The Irish Times). The candidate was standing for the Irish presidency. No court is involved. Where the video was made is unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IE"],"affected_person_countries":["IE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because an examiner consulted by BBC Verify described visual signs of AI generation and the Electoral Commission called it an AI-generated video, and the depicted candidate called it a fabrication and lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission.","reviewed_on":"2026-11-02"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The video presented AI-generated likenesses of the candidate and two RTÉ journalists in a fake news bulletin announcing her withdrawal, and that depiction is what she condemned and complained about. An emeritus professor of computing who examined it told BBC Verify that over-pronounced lip and mouth movements and an aura around the reporter gave it away, and the Electoral Commission, which escalated it to the platforms, called it an AI-generated video. No source identifies the maker or the tool.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"AI video mimicking an RTÉ bulletin falsely showed Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly quitting; she complained to the Electoral Commission","summary":"On the night of Tuesday 21 October 2025, three days before Ireland's presidential election, a video mimicking an RTÉ News bulletin appeared on Facebook and other platforms in which AI-generated versions of an RTÉ presenter and of independent candidate Catherine Connolly announced her withdrawal, and an AI-generated RTÉ political correspondent said the election was cancelled. An emeritus professor of computing told BBC Verify that over-pronounced lip movements and a slight aura around the reporter gave the video away, and the Electoral Commission called it an AI-generated video and escalated it to the platforms. Connolly called the video a fabrication and a disgraceful attempt to mislead voters, said she was still a candidate and lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission. Meta removed the posting account for impersonation and YouTube removed the video and its channel; the Irish Examiner reported that it could still be viewed on X.","incidentDate":"2025-10-21","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-10-22","aiSystem":"Unidentified AI video tool used to make a fake RTÉ News bulletin showing a presidential candidate announcing her withdrawal; the maker is not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A fabricated news video that an examiner consulted by BBC Verify and the Electoral Commission described as AI-generated showed a presidential candidate announcing a withdrawal she never made; she called it a disgraceful attempt to mislead voters and complained to the Electoral Commission (reported).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the presidential candidate shown announcing a withdrawal she never made, who called the video a fabrication and lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission (BBC, The Irish Times, TheJournal.ie, Irish Examiner). The two RTÉ journalists also shown are not counted because no response from them is reported; viewers and voters are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxkn504lqpo","primarySourceLabel":"BBC News NI, 22 Oct 2025: 'Disgraceful' deep-fake AI video condemned by presidential candidate","firstPublishedAt":"2026-11-02T03:03:22.850527+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-11-02T03:03:22.850527+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","election","news-impersonation","depicted-or-impersonated","electoral-commission","meta"]}]}