Singapore passed a law on October 15 that would ban deepfakes and other digitally manipulated content of candidates during elections.
Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Bill was a carefully calibrated response to augment Singapore’s existing election laws.
It will come into effect once the writ of election is issued and will remain in place until polling ends, but it will only apply if four conditions are met:
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The content is online election advertising, where its intent is to promote, procure or prejudice the electoral prospects of a party or candidate;
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The content is digitally generated or manipulated;
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The content depicts a candidate saying or doing something that he or she did not say or do; and
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The content is realistic enough that some members of the public who see or hear the content would reasonably believe that the candidate did in fact say or do that thing.
Publishing, sharing, or reposting the content would be a criminal offence if it meets all four conditions.
Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security, said that deepfakes complicate the task of distinguishing real content from altered material, and that the passing of the law addresses the specific threat of deepfakes in the context of election-related content.
“To identify potential deepfakes, voters should look for subtle inconsistencies in the content,” he said. “Signs of manipulation may include mismatched facial expressions, unnatural speech patterns or irregularities in the synchronisation of audio and video.”
“Deepfakes are an advanced form of digital manipulation, introducing new challenges to maintaining online security and ensuring content integrity,” added Guccione. “This technology makes it possible to create highly realistic but fabricated audio and video recordings, which can be used to impersonate individuals and organisations, complicating the task of distinguishing real content from altered material.”
“In response to these risks, the passing of the law addresses the specific threat of deepfakes in the context of election-related content. By prohibiting the publication of digitally manipulated content that falsely represents candidates, it aims to protect the integrity of election-related information.”
“To identify potential deepfakes, voters should look for subtle inconsistencies in the content. Signs of manipulation may include mismatched facial expressions, unnatural speech patterns or irregularities in the synchronisation of audio and video. Additionally, verifying the source of the content and cross-referencing with reliable information can help verify its authenticity.”
