Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly targeted by deepfake
A deepfake video recently made the rounds on social media, falsely claiming that Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly had dropped out and that the upcoming election was canceled.
The clip looked like a real RTE news broadcast but came from a fake account called "RTE News AI" before it was finally taken down.
Connolly's team takes action
Connolly called out the video as a malicious fabrication and made it clear she's still in the race.
Her team quickly reported the deepfake to social media platforms, asked for its removal, and filed a complaint with Ireland's Electoral Commission.
They're urging everyone not to share this kind of disinformation and want platforms to label or remove AI-generated fakes fast.
Deepfakes and elections
This incident is a wake-up call about how convincing AI deepfakes can mess with elections by spreading lies and confusing voters.
It's a reminder we all need to stay sharp online—and that tech platforms have to step up their game when it comes to spotting and removing fake content.