Ruling party: opposition has plans to release deepfakes on election day

The ruling Georgian Dream party has warned voters regarding deepfake videos which may go viral on election day. Photo: Georgian Dream press office. 

Agenda.ge, 26 Oct 2020 - 15:40, Tbilisi,Georgia

The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the ‘radical opposition’ which has ‘zero chance of winning the parliamentary elections’ has plans to release deepfakes on election day, on Saturday.

Deepfake videos are inauthentic videos that depict people and voices that resemble their counterparts in reality.

Kobakhidze says that the videos, which may depict members of the ruling party, including party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, will aim to mislead voters.

The fake videos may be placed on the internet one day prior to the election or on election day and voters should be very cautious,” Executive Secretary of the ruling party Irakli Kobakhidze stated earlier today. 

He said that the ruling party has no detailed information so far on what kind of fake videos may go viral. 

The United National Movement opposition party members say that the ruling party ‘is becoming more and more inappropriate as the election day is approaching.’ 

Salome Samadashvili from the UNM has advised the ruling party to ‘adapt to failure in the elections and act more appropriately.’