2 Million Views: The Number Behind Spain's AI Election Ad Controversy

A political dispute in Spain has centered on a single metric: nearly 2 million views. By Friday, the number of people who had watched a short video from the conservative People's Party (PP) reached that mark. The clip used artificial intelligence to imitate the voices and faces of figures associated with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist party. The release occurred just weeks before the general election scheduled for 29 November.

The video, posted to the PP's social media channels this week, depicts AI-generated versions of several public figures confessing to various scandals. In one segment, a digital replica of Begoña Gómez, the prime minister's wife, discusses receiving a university position due to her husband's status. In another, a deepfake of former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero speaks about hiding jewelry in a safe. Both references align with ongoing investigations, though both individuals have denied any wrongdoing.

The Socialist party responded swiftly to the release. Óscar López, the minister for digital transformation, criticized the clip during a broadcast on TVE. He described the video as a colossal lie and argued that posting it on official party accounts was intolerable. López pointed out that the label indicating the use of AI was written in tiny, nearly transparent text at the bottom of the screen. He warned that viewers unfamiliar with the technology could easily mistake the digital imitations for real footage.

Legal action followed the political backlash. On Friday, Leire Díez, a former Socialist party member whose likeness appeared in the video, filed a court complaint against the PP. She requested the immediate removal of the advert. The complaint alleged defamation and digital identity theft. The video used her image to suggest she worked to undermine the judiciary and law enforcement to benefit her former party.

Legal experts largely view the PP's position as strong. Nine specialists consulted by the newspaper El País agreed the video was likely not illegal. Their reasoning was that the clip was clearly labelled as AI-generated and maintained a satirical tone. Íñigo Navarro, a former dean of the law faculty at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, noted that viewers understood the figures did not actually speak those lines. Juan Antonio Lascuraín, a criminal law professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, emphasized that legality is distinct from political appropriateness.

Academic observers offered mixed reactions to the campaign strategy. José Javier Olivas, an associate professor at the National University for Distance Education, called the use of deepfakes regrettable. He argued that the video crossed a red line by putting words in other people's mouths. Olivas characterized this act as disinformation, noting that both mainstream parties have recently attacked each other's morality.

The controversy in Spain mirrors a trend emerging in the United States ahead of its midterm elections. A research group at Wesleyan University identified more than 200 ads using AI, most of which were tied to Republican candidates. Erika Franklin Fowler, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, reported that spending on AI-generated ads in the 2024 cycle was under $50,000. She noted that much of the current usage lacks a disclaimer.

The PP has dismissed the criticism surrounding the video. Party figure Borja Sémper stated that a problem would only exist if there was malicious intent to deceive viewers into thinking the characters were real. He argued that the digital tools were used to expose Socialist hypocrisy. Current polls suggest the PP will win the election on 29 November, although they will likely require support from the far-right Vox party to form a government.