Full Fact, the UK's largest fact checking charity, has debunked two sets of AI-generated videos circulating online. One set shows an independent candidate in the Scottish parliamentary elections allegedly meeting voters and attending events, while the other depicts Muslims praying in busy streets lined with UK flags.
The first videos were posted by Arzoo Waqqar Abdullah, who is standing for the Glasgow Southside constituency. They showed him meeting voters, speaking at rallies, and visiting a primary school and a hospital. Mr Abdullah told Full Fact that the videos were “illustrative” and did not depict real events. The original posts included a disclaimer that was only visible if users clicked “see more”. Following contact from Full Fact, he removed the posts and re-uploaded them with the disclaimer prominently displayed at the top of the captions.
The Electoral Commission told Full Fact it expects any AI-generated campaign material to be clearly labelled to avoid misleading voters. It noted that because the videos were labelled as “illustrative AI scenes”, they fell outside the scope of its deepfake detection pilot. Clues that the videos were AI-generated include buses blending into each other, shops with invented names, and gibberish signs. Full Fact’s AI tools also identified Google’s SynthID watermark in the clips.
The second set of videos, shared on Facebook, show people apparently praying on roads with UK flags and audio of someone saying “Allahu Akbar” on a loudspeaker. They have generated hundreds of negative comments from users who believe they are real. However, Full Fact found that all four similar videos contained SynthID watermarks in both visuals and audio. Additional AI indicators include garbled text on shopfronts and buses, distorted flags, and glitching people and vehicles.
Full Fact provides a guide and toolkit to help the public spot AI-generated content.
