One in three voters saw deepfakes of politicians ahead of local elections, poll shows
A recent poll indicates that nearly one in three UK voters have encountered deepfakes related to politicians ahead of local elections. The survey, conducted by Opinium for the think tank Demos, reveals that 30% of respondents saw AI-generated content about election candidates. This raises concerns about the impact of such technology on democracy as the country approaches a crucial by-election.
- ▪30% of UK voters reported seeing deepfakes or AI-generated content about politicians before local elections.
- ▪The poll was conducted by Opinium for the think tank Demos between April 30 and May 6, 2026.
- ▪Around 16% of respondents encountered political deepfakes more than five times during the polling period.
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| Original publisher | The Independent |
| Canonical URL | https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/elections-ai-deepfakes-politics-b2986017.html |
| Publication time | Sat, 30 May 2026 07:34:55 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-30T07:42:08.445Z |
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NewsUKUK PoliticsOne in three voters saw deepfakes of politicians ahead of local elections, poll showsExclusive: Almost one in three (30 per cent) adults said they had seen a deepfake or AI-generated video, audio clip or image about an election candidate or politician online in the lead up to the local elections, new polling shows Millie Cooke Political Correspondent Saturday 30 May 2026 08:34 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove…
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