AI ‘resurrects’ long dead dictator in murky new era of deepfake electioneering
A once-feared army general, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades, has a message for voters ahead of upcoming elections – from beyond the grave.
“I am Suharto, the second president of Indonesia,” the former general says in a three-minute video that has racked up more than 4.7 million views on X and spread to TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
While mildly convincing at first, it’s clear that the stern-looking man in the video isn’t the former Indonesian president. The real Suharto, dubbed the “Smiling General” because he was always seen smiling despite his ruthless leadership style, died in 2008 at age 86.
The video was an AI-generated deepfake, created using tools that cloned Suharto’s face and voice. “The video was made to remind us how important our votes are in the upcoming election,” said Erwin Aksa, deputy chairman of Golkar – one of Indonesia’s largest and oldest political parties. He first shared the video on X ahead of February 14 elections.
Related article A fake recording of a candidate saying he’d rigged the election went viral. Experts say it’s only the beginning
