deepfakes

Scammers are increasingly using AI to generate fake faces and voices in fraud schemes, prompting Meta to deploy its own AI defences that analyse billions of signals to detect patterns and remove accounts at scale. The company says it removed 159 million scam accounts in 2025. Meta's Dr. Rafael Frankel discussed this AI-versus-AI arms race, as concern grows over deepfake-driven online fraud.

Researchers writing in The Conversation say deepfake content is distorting this year's Victorian state election in Australia. Their analysis identifies which groups of voters are most susceptible to manipulated audio and video, warning that synthetic media could influence how people judge candidates and parties ahead of polling day.

Italian media attention is on Le Iene, the Mediaset investigative programme, amid a broader political debate in Italy over deepfakes. Forza Italia has launched an appeal for a 'pact against deep fakes', but its allies have reacted coldly and the opposition argues that what is needed is actual legislation rather than a declaration. The discussion ties the programme's recent coverage to the wider fight over synthetic media regulation.

US state legislatures are finding it hard to pass and enforce laws regulating AI-generated deepfakes in elections. Lawmakers have introduced measures targeting deceptive synthetic media in political campaigns, but the fast pace of AI development, legal questions around free speech, and uneven adoption across states are leaving gaps that manipulated campaign content could exploit ahead of future votes.

BBC Ideas and The Open University have released a short animation explaining how deepfakes, voice cloning, and other synthetic media have made online fraud far more difficult to detect than in the era of obviously glitched images. The piece walks through practical verification habits people can use to recognize manipulated content, and it is being shared as a timely reminder to stay skeptical of what circulates online.

New research indicates that victims of deepfake sexual abuse who are celebrities encounter a distinctive pattern of victim-blaming, distinguishing their experience from other forms of image-based abuse. The findings shed light on how audiences hold famous targets partly responsible for fabricated sexual content, complicating efforts to support victims and curb the spread of such material.

A new explainer from BBC Ideas and The Open University warns that deepfakes, voice cloning and other synthetic media have made online fraud far harder to detect than in the era of distorted hands and obvious glitches. The short animation lays out practical verification habits people can use to spot manipulated content and avoid scams, prompting renewed discussion online about how to stay alert to AI-driven deception.

Josephine Teo has called for artificial intelligence to be deployed against AI-driven threats as part of Singapore's multi-layered security approach. She argued that defensive AI tools are needed to counter risks such as deepfakes, scams and other malicious uses of the technology. The remarks underline how governments are wrestling with AI being both a danger and a defence.

An opinion piece argues that AI-generated political deepfake advertisements are spreading rapidly online while state legislators remain unable to craft effective rules in response. The commentary highlights the gap between fast-moving AI technology and slower legislative processes, raising concerns about voter manipulation ahead of elections and urging lawmakers to act on disclosure requirements and oversight.

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked Minnesota's ban on AI tools that create nonconsensual nude images of people, pending the outcome of a constitutional challenge brought by Elon Musk's xAI. The court's order pauses enforcement of the law while litigation continues. The case is drawing attention as part of a wider legal fight over how far states can go in regulating AI-generated imagery and deepfakes.

Congress is set to leave Washington ahead of the November midterm elections without passing any major legislation regulating artificial intelligence, according to The New York Times. Despite numerous hearings, proposals and bipartisan interest in issues like deepfakes, data privacy and AI safety, lawmakers have failed to advance comprehensive rules, leaving the United States without a federal framework as the technology rapidly develops.

Commentary at Tech Policy Press argues Taiwan needs a deepfake law that actually works to protect its elections. The piece contends that AI-generated manipulated media poses a growing threat to voters and candidates, and calls for legislation that is practical and enforceable rather than symbolic, as Taiwan faces ongoing information pressure from abroad.

Commentary is warning that artificial intelligence-generated disinformation could pose one of the biggest threats to the 2026 US midterm elections. Concerns centre on deepfakes, fake audio and fabricated content capable of misleading voters at scale, with observers calling for safeguards and greater public awareness ahead of the vote.

Political campaigns using AI-generated deepfakes are beginning to face legal threats, as candidates and election officials respond to fake audio and video content designed to mislead voters. The development signals that courts and lawyers may become a new front in the fight over synthetic media in elections, with legal pressure emerging alongside calls for regulation of AI in political advertising.

The Guardian reports that artificial intelligence could 'supercharge' election risks across south-east Asia, with concerns that AI-generated disinformation, deepfakes and automated propaganda could distort campaigns and undermine voter trust in the region's upcoming elections. The warning comes as several south-east Asian countries head into sensitive electoral periods, prompting calls for stronger safeguards against AI-driven manipulation of political discourse.

US state lawmakers are racing to regulate AI-generated deepfakes in elections, but legislation is lagging behind the fast-moving technology. With synthetic audio and video of candidates increasingly easy to produce, states are passing a patchwork of disclosure and ban rules, raising concerns about voter deception ahead of upcoming votes and gaps in enforcement across jurisdictions.

Commentators are describing the current election cycle as the first in which artificial intelligence plays a central role, with AI tools shaping campaign messaging, voter outreach and the spread of political content. Observers are divided on the implications, warning of misinformation and deepfakes while acknowledging the technology is now embedded in political life whether voters welcome it or not.

A US appeals court has paused enforcement of a law that bans the creation of AI-generated nude images using xAI's Grok chatbot, according to Reuters. Elon Musk's xAI is challenging the law, arguing it violates free speech, and claims Grok already has safeguards preventing the generation of sexualized images of real people.

AI-generated deepfake fraud is creating new legal liability questions for banks and companies, according to Bloomberg Law. As scammers use convincing fake voices and video to impersonate executives and clients, institutions face growing uncertainty over who bears the losses when payments are authorized by fakes. The report suggests courts and regulators will play a key role in defining responsibility for deepfake-enabled financial crime.

An AI policy scholar at the University of Denver examines how US lawmakers are responding to viral AI-generated political deepfakes ahead of the 2026 elections. Writing in The Conversation, he argues that two states' existing laws illustrate the limits of what state-level regulation can achieve as synthetic political content spreads faster than legislation can keep up.

A new analysis from Recorded Future examines how generative AI and synthetic media are changing social engineering tactics used in fraud and identity theft. The report distinguishes between attacks that scale widely and highly targeted schemes, such as deepfake voice or video calls impersonating executives or relatives. It argues that traditional identity verification methods, which rely on visual or vocal cues, are increasingly unreliable as synthetic content becomes cheap and convincing.

Historians are revisiting the Donation of Constantine, a forged imperial decree that medieval church officials cited for centuries to support papal authority over secular rulers. The document, now widely recognised as an eighth-century fabrication, functioned much like a modern deepfake, lending false legitimacy to claims of power until Renaissance scrutiny exposed it.

Axios argues the next phase of artificial intelligence will be defined by AI systems confronting and testing each other, rather than by humans alone. As AI-generated content floods the internet, defenders and attackers alike will be machines, with AI used to detect, counter and exploit other AI. The idea is drawing attention amid growing concern over deepfakes, automated scams and an arms race between generative models and the tools built to catch them.