San Francisco: Google announced on Monday that it will enforce mandatory disclosures for election advertisements featuring digitally altered content, as part of its efforts to combat election misinformation.
Under the updated political content policy, advertisers must now select a checkbox in the “altered or synthetic content” section of their campaign settings. This measure aims to address concerns stemming from the rapid advancement of generative AI, which can swiftly generate text, images, and videos based on prompts.
The proliferation of deepfakes, which convincingly manipulate content to mislead viewers, has intensified the need for clear distinctions between authentic and manipulated media.
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Google specified that in-feed and shorts ads on mobile devices, as well as in-stream ads on computers and televisions, will automatically include an in-ad disclosure. For other ad formats, advertisers must provide a prominent disclosure that is easily noticeable to users. The wording of these disclosures will be adapted to suit the context of each advertisement.
During India’s recent general election, fake videos featuring two Bollywood actors criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi went viral online. These AI-generated videos urged viewers to support the opposition Congress party, highlighting the potential misuse of manipulated media in influencing political discourse.
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Separately, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, revealed in May that it had thwarted five covert influence operations attempting to exploit its AI models for deceptive activities online, aimed at manipulating public opinion or political outcomes.
Previously, Meta Platforms had announced measures to require advertisers on Facebook and Instagram to disclose the use of AI or other digital tools in altering or creating political, social, or election-related ads.
