AI deepfakes and bots influence Israel's election and France's riots

· Tech · Israel · France

For the first time, artificial intelligence is playing a major role in Israel's elections, with observers warning that deepfakes, bots and influence campaigns could sway voters. In France, AI-generated photos falsely claiming to show an elderly couple "stripped and robbed" during the unrest racked up millions of views; amplified by far-right accounts, the images fuelled inflammatory claims about Muslims, Jews and the riots, and were traced by FRANCE 24 Observers to an AI photo montage.

Why it matters：Synthetic media is now routinely shaping real political events, eroding the shared factual basis that elections depend on.

Key points

  • AI is playing a major role in Israel's elections for the first time
  • AI-generated riot photos in France drew millions of views
  • Far-right accounts amplified the false images

Sources (original reporting)

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