AI-generated posts smear candidates ahead of Okinawa…

Ahead of the September 13, 2024, gubernatorial election in Okinawa, AI-generated content has been used to target leading candidates Denny Tamaki and Genta Koja. The fabricated materials, circulating on social media, have sparked concerns regarding the impact of sophisticated misinformation on voter judgment and political discourse.

What happened

The incident involved several distinct instances of AI-generated media. On September 6, a six-second video was posted on X showing a man resembling incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki being pushed to the ground and run over by heavy machinery. The clip, labeled as created with the AI feature “Grok Imagine,” garnered over 490,000 views by September 10. A second video posted the same day utilized AI to suggest that the Chinese Communist Party was attempting to seize Okinawa, a narrative that many users connected to Tamaki’s potential re-election.

Separately, in late August, an AI-generated image featuring challenger Genta Koja’s face appeared online, paired with a slogan about serving national interests. An analysis by The Asahi Shimbun using the detection tool SynthID confirmed the image was AI-generated. A Koja campaign official denied any involvement, stating the campaign had never used the slogan depicted. While the original post was deleted, the image continues to circulate. Experts, including Professor Kenichi Shimomura of Hakuoh University, have warned that these advancements in AI make it increasingly difficult for voters to discern accurate information, potentially deepening social divisions during the election cycle.