European far-right used AI to support political messaging, reports say

European far-right parties have used artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images to support political messaging, two new reports have found, but it is difficult to assess how those images may have impacted the recent French and European elections.

Non-profit organisation AI Forensics went through the social media pages of 31 French political parties to determine whether they could spot generative AI (genAI) content from May 1 to June 28, during the EU elections and the first round of France’s legislative campaign.

In total, the team uncovered 51 instances of generative AI images used by French parties, with the far-right National Rally (RN), Reconquête and Les Patriotes being the most implicated, yet researchers said it’s a conservative estimate.

Most of the AI-generated campaign images used by French parties “convey messages of anti-immigration, lack of safety in France, lack of freedom of expression, a flawed justice system, and poor agricultural protections,” the AI Forensics report found.

The AI Forensics report found none of the AI-generated images were labelled as such. “Our findings reveal critical negligence on both sides of political parties and platforms to adhere to the commitments of labelling AI-generated imagery in their political campaigns, highlighting the urgent need for transparency,” the report reads.

AI Forensics will be sending their report to the European Commission with the hope that there will be some sort of repercussion against parties for breaching these codes of conduct.

The usage of generative AI images and bots is how democracy ends.