US Democrats Conduct Drill for Potential Election Interference Scenarios Involving AI Deepfakes

The US Democratic Party has conducted a simulation exercise imagining various scenarios of election interference, including AI deepfakes, ahead of the midterm elections coming up in November.

The UK-based Guardian reported last month that a simulation was carried out depicting a scenario where AI deepfake videos claiming "election fraud" spread while armed men appear at polling stations.

The response drill, held in Washington, D.C., reportedly involved Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, along with election-related non-profit organizations and election law experts.

One of the scenarios presented during the exercise involved the spread of AI deepfakes via social media weeks before voting began, falsely claiming that widespread election fraud had occurred.

According to the scenario, despite experts analyzing the videos as fabricated, claims of election fraud by far-right media outlets and the president led to death threats against election officials, escalating to a situation where armed men appeared at polling stations.

Additionally, the drill covered scenarios involving the executive branch interfering in the election.

The response measures also addressed situations where the federal government threatened to cut off funding to states that refuse to submit voter rolls, or unilaterally deployed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents and the National Guard to polling stations.

The Guardian analyzed that the Democratic Party is conducting response drills for such diverse scenarios due to concerns over President Donald Trump's remarks regarding elections and the administration's actions.

In a televised speech last month, President Trump claimed that China unlawfully acquired information on more than 200 million US voters and interfered with his campaign in the 2020 presidential election.

Justin Vail, a director at Protect Democracy, a non-profit organization that participated in the drill, explained that the simulation aimed "not to predict exactly what will happen, but to identify gaps in response and strengthen cooperation through various situations."

Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Choi Gang-san | Graphics by Yang Hae-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.