Deepfakes, overseas content farms and the Senedd election: Delyn MS calls for action six weeks before polls open
A Flintshire politican has warned that artificial intelligence is already being used to create fake videos of Welsh politicians ahead of this year’s Senedd election, and has called on governments to act before the damage becomes irreversible.
Hannah Blythyn MS (Labour, Delyn) raised the issue during topical questions in the Senedd chamber, citing a BBC investigation that found overseas content farms using AI to generate misleading social media posts about UK politics, including examples falsely showing Welsh politicians in compromising situations.
Ms Blythyn told the chamber: “I’ve raised previously the question of the use of so-called deepfakes on well-known social media platforms, particularly in respect of the fake sexualisation of girls and women, and called it out for what it is, technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.”
She said the harm does not stop when material is labelled as fake or satirical.
“Just because whoever is sharing the image is stating that it’s fake or it’s clearly satirical, it doesn’t make it okay. It’s still equally abhorrent and absolutely unacceptable. My belief is that sharing such things should make you just as culpable as creating them in the first place.”
Julie James, Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, said the Welsh Government is working with the UK Government, the Electoral Commission and police ahead of the May elections.
She told the Senedd: “Media regulation is reserved, but the Welsh Government is working closely with the UK Government, the Electoral Commission, the police and other partners to safeguard the integrity and security of the Senedd election, and with civil society and the electoral management board to improve the supply of credible information to voters.”
Ms James confirmed the Electoral Commission has briefed the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government on a new deepfake monitoring technology trial, and said candidate security guidance has been shared with all political parties in Wales.
She added that the National Cyber Security Centre is offering security briefings to candidates, parties and local authorities, and urged all parties to take up the offer.
A police protection programme, Operation Fraud, has been extended to all Senedd Members and candidates ahead of the election.
Ms James also confirmed the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill — at Stage 3 next week — would place a duty on Welsh Ministers to prohibit the making or publishing of false statements during a Senedd election, though she acknowledged it would not be in force for this May’s vote.
Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams had tabled an amendment at Stage 2 that would have placed explicit reference to deepfakes on the face of the Bill.
Ms James said the Welsh Government’s legal advice was against listing specific examples, arguing the existing wording — prohibiting false statements — was wide enough to cover AI-generated content, and that listing examples risked inadvertently limiting the scope of the legislation.
Alun Davies MS (Labour, Blaenau Gwent) told the chamber he had seen Facebook pages circulating in his constituency promoting what he described as right-wing propaganda from pages based in Spain, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Portugal. He called for action on foreign funding of political activity in Welsh elections.
Ms James said she agreed deepfakes were a growing concern. “I think we can all agree that the way that high-quality deepfake materials can be easily created and disseminated is a real worry for us all, especially those of us who care about democracy and truthful competition of ideas and policies.”
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