Targets, Objectives, and Emerging Tactics of Political Deepfakes

This Insikt Group report examines 82 deepfake incidents targeting public figures across 38 countries (many in election cycles) from July 2023 to July 2024, highlighting objectives such as scams, fabricated statements, electioneering, character assassination, and non-consensual pornography. It details emerging tactics—including audio deepfakes, fake whistleblowers, spoofed news branding, and impersonation of leaders and their family members—and recommends rapid public rebuttals, familiarity campaigns, copyright-based takedowns, investment in AI detection, and collaboration with fact-checkers to mitigate disinformation risks to elections and public trust.