Political deepfakes are becoming more widespread as the presidential election approaches and are misleading more people, experts warn.

According to a recent survey conducted by IT security company McAfee, 63% of respondents said they had seen a political deepfake in the past 60 days. Nearly half of them (48%) said deepfake had some influence on their vote choice in the upcoming election.

FILE – Voting signs are stored and ready at the Reo Elections Office on Oct. 3, 2024, in Lansing, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Deepfakes can be images, videos or audio files modified or generated using artificial intelligence tools. The problem is that GenAI tools have made it easier and faster to create realistic AI-generated content, according to Abhishek Karnik, head of threat research at McAfee.

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These deepfakes have become so common that more than a quarter of respondents, or 27%, have seen at least five deepfakes in the past two months. About 13% have seen 10 or more deepfakes.

“This year, deepfakes are particularly concerning, not only because they are on the rise, but also because people are increasingly uncertain about what is real and what is fake online,” Karnik said at FOX Business.

Karnik said more than 8 in 10 Americans discover content each month that they can’t immediately verify if it’s real or real. Powered by AI.

He noted that this trend is pronounced in battleground states like Michigan, where nearly 71% of people have been exposed to political deepfakes, data shows. In Pennsylvania, 61% of respondents said they had encountered political deepfakes.

Meanwhile, more than half of those surveyed said encounter political deepfakes in Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

In other battleground states, including Arizona and Georgia, nearly half of those surveyed said they had encountered political deepfakes, the data showed.

“In such a polarized election cycle, misinformation can easily exploit existing biases and make their impact even more significant,” Karnik said.

Karnik argued that when people begin to doubt the truth of what they see and hear, “a constant feeling of uncertainty sets in, making it easier for false narratives to shape their opinions, especially when the content aligns with pre-existing beliefs.”

McAfee launched a AI Toolkit for the 2024 Elections to help voters learn the basics of spotting a deepfake.

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