BHUBANESWAR: As campaigning for the crucial Nuapada bypoll has assumed high pitch, the chief electoral officer (CEO), Odisha, on Saturday cautioned the political parties and leaders to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and avoid AI-generated content to maintain the integrity of elections and public confidence in the voting process.
The office of the CEO, RS Gopalan, also said in view of the serious risks posed by deepfakes and AI-generated content that could potentially influence the electoral process, the EC has reminded all political parties of their responsibility to strictly comply with the IT Rules, 2021 and all related directions and advisories previously issued by the panel.
The political parties, candidates and campaign representatives have been asked to ensure that any artificially generated or AI-driven images, audio or videos used or circulated for campaign purposes must carry a clear label such as ‘AI-Generated’, ‘Digitally Enhanced’ or ‘Synthetic Content.’ This label must cover at least 10 per cent of the visible display area or the first 10 per cent duration in case of audio content. For video content, the label must appear prominently at the top of the screen.
The political parties and leaders have also been asked to ensure that any AI-generated, AI-altered, misleading or manipulated content appearing on official party handles must be removed within three hours of being brought to notice. Besides, they have also been asked to ensure no content is published or forwarded that has a reasonable likelihood of misleading or deceiving voters or that falsely represents any person’s identity, likeness or voice. The bypoll is to be held on November 11.
