Santo y Seña TV Program Creates Deepfake of Candidate Orsi Without Consent
TV program Santo y Seña broadcast a deepfake video of presidential candidate Yamandú Orsi as a hologram with AI-generated voice, after Orsi declined to participate in the live program. His campaign team denounced the broadcast as a threat to democratic elections and expressed concern the synthetic video could spread without proper attribution during the final days of the campaign.
What happened
After candidate Yamandú Orsi declined to participate in the TV program Santo y Seña, presenter Ignacio Álvarez created and broadcast a deepfake of Orsi as a hologram seated at the program's table alongside Colorado Party candidate Andrés Ojeda. The deepfake used AI to recreate both Orsi's visual appearance and voice, with the synthetic version saying statements never made by the actual candidate.
Reported impact
Orsi's campaign manager Alejandro 'Pacha' Sánchez warned that the deepfake represented 'a grave attack on democracy and the electoral process in Uruguay' and feared the content could go viral presented as a genuine interview. Senator Blanca Rodríguez stated that no precedent for such conduct existed in Uruguay and called on campaigns to avoid such harmful practices.
Index analysis
The program explicitly disclaimed that the statements were AI-recreated, but Frente Amplio feared the video could circulate without such context and influence voters days before an election.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.