Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued fresh directions to all political parties, candidates and campaign representatives regarding the handling of synthetically generated or AI-altered content in election campaigning.
The commission highlighted the misuse of hyper-realistic, synthetically generated information, including depictions of political leaders making electorally sensitive messages.
The electoral body said this is contaminating the level-playing field in the electoral arena and disrupting fair and equal conditions for all political participants, which is a condition for preserving the integrity of political campaigning during elections.
The ECI noted that the use of technology to create, generate, modify and alter information, and to publish and transmit synthetically generated information, poses a deep threat and challenge because of its ability to masquerade as the truth and unwittingly trap political stakeholders into incorrect conclusions.
The poll body explicitly stated that transparency and accountability must be maintained to preserve electoral integrity and voter trust.
The commission further referenced its earlier guidelines issued on May 6 and its advisory early this year, regarding the responsible and ethical use of social media platforms and the specific labelling of synthetic and AI-generated content used by political parties for election campaigning.
Invoking its plenary power under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, it reminded all political parties of their responsibility to ensure compliance with the IT Rules, 2021, and all guidelines and advisories issued in this regard.
Fresh Directions
The commission directed that any synthetically generated or AI-altered image, audio or video used or disseminated for campaigning purposes must bear a clear, prominent and legible label such as ‘AI-generated’, ‘digitally enhanced’, or ‘synthetic content’, covering at least 10% of the visible display area or the initial 10% duration for audio content.
The label in the case of video content must be displayed at the top of the screen.
Every such content must prominently disclose the name of the entity responsible for its generation in the metadata or accompanying caption.
The guidelines further specify that no content shall be published or forwarded which is unlawful and misrepresents the identity, appearance or voice of any person without his consent in a manner reasonably likely to mislead or deceive the electorate.
Moreover, any instance of synthetically generated or AI-altered image, audio or video, misinformation or manipulated content falling within this prohibition, if detected on official party handles, shall be taken down within three hours of being noticed or reported.
Political parties must maintain internal records of all AI-generated campaign materials, including creator details and timestamps, for verification when sought by the ECI, the direction added.
The order is set to take effect immediately and remain applicable during all general and bye-elections until further orders.
The EC’s direction comes days after the Union government released draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, seeking to establish legal guardrails around synthetically generated information, including deepfakes.
The electronics and information technology ministry (MeitY), which notified the draft, has invited feedback on the proposed changes by November 6.
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