Analysis of the Disinformation Campaign Against a Democratic Process
Attackers meticulously timed their deepfake release. According to Slovak election law, no party or candidate may answer media requests during 48 hours before voting opens [1].
The deepfake audio recording was released specifically during this period. Progressive Slovakia couldn’t react. Media could not respond quickly enough.
The deepfake was mostly circulating on pro-Russian disinformation channels and groups. Analysis of the file using both forensics methods and deepfake detection showed unequivocal evidence that it was a product of generative AI, namely irregular spectral patterns, artifacts in word transitions, and inconsistent pause lengths [2].
Effect of the Attack
Progressive Slovakia received second place, losing to Robert Fico’s SMER. It is impossible to establish causation with confidence, as any election process involves multiple factors. Nevertheless, the impact was clear: Progressive Slovakia lost ground in the final pre-election poll.
The case was analyzed by AP News, Politico, and the research organization EUvsDisinfo as one of the first known incidents of election manipulation using deepfake audio [3].
Why This Case Is Unique Compared to Financial Frauds
Every other case in this collection has one thing in common: an unambiguous economic damage, quantified in dollars and euros, tangible and calculable. Slovakia 2023 shows another side of the deepfake coin.
Financial loss is the least of the risks when it comes to deepfake audio files released in the context of elections. The objective is to undermine the integrity of the electoral process. Citizens’ distrust of the electoral process itself and of legitimate politicians is a primary target.
Deepfake audio in the election context does not have to be realistic. It must be plausible. And plausibility is all that disinformation campaigns strive for.
What matters here is not whether it was a real or fake voice. What matters is how many people listened to the message and voted in doubt. The purpose of disinformation campaigns is not to convince. They aim to confuse.
— EUvsDisinfo, analysis of the 2023 Slovak election
How SYNHAWK Protects Against This Type of Attack
SYNHAWK PROTECTION: SYNHAWK can detect deepfake audio files on the internet. Using HAWK 7, the core of our deepfake detection technology for audio files, it could have determined that this file is a deepfake in mere seconds.