Argentine Electoral Court Rules AI-Generated Fake Campaign Videos Are Crime
Argentina's electoral court confirmed prosecution of a woman who created and posted fake videos of politician Mario Negri in 2021, and ruled that distribution of AI-generated deepfake campaign videos constitutes electoral crime. The ruling came after similar fake videos of other politicians circulated before the May 2025 Buenos Aires elections.
What happened
The Argentine Cámara Nacional Electoral confirmed on 17 July 2025 the prosecution of María Victoria Villaver for publishing two fake videos in 2021 that falsely depicted then-senatorial candidate Mario Negri confessing to financing his campaign with money withheld from employees. The videos were created by splicing Negri's image from real interviews with another person's voice and posted on a Facebook advertising page operated by a company for which Villaver worked.
Shortly before the 18 May 2025 Buenos Aires legislative elections, AI-generated deepfake videos of Mauricio Macri and Silvia Lospennato circulated on social media, attributed to supporters of Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza party.
Reported impact
The Court identified the distribution of fake videos during campaigns as 'electoral violence that distorts public debate.' The ruling establishes that such conduct constitutes fraud under Article 140 of the National Electoral Code, carrying penalties of two months to two years imprisonment.
Index analysis
The Court's decision links the 2021 case with deepfake videos created using AI techniques. The ruling clarifies that whoever 'with deception induces another to vote in a certain way or to refrain from doing so' through videos generated by AI or other means can face criminal penalties.
Governance controls
The Court's ruling provides a legal framework for prosecuting the creation and distribution of fake campaign videos, whether manually manipulated or AI-generated. The decision was issued in the context of ongoing national elections in October 2025.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.