Spain's main opposition party released a deepfake video this week targeting the prime minister's wife and other figures linked to his Socialist party ahead of next month's general election. The People's Party (PP) posted the artificial intelligence-manipulated video across social media platforms. The clip used AI to create likenesses of various people connected to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and appeared to show them admitting to crimes including soliciting prostitutes and taking kickbacks.
The ad has provoked widespread outrage in Spain and triggered a broader debate about artificial intelligence's role in politics. Spain enters the election period already deeply polarized, and the use of deepfake technology targeting the prime minister's family member has intensified tensions further.
The video represents an escalation in how political campaigns employ AI-generated content. The PP's decision to feature Sánchez's wife in particular raised the stakes by personalizing attacks on the prime minister through his family members rather than his political record alone.
Spanish authorities and political observers have not yet responded with detail on whether legal action might follow. The incident underscores growing concerns across democracies about deepfakes being weaponized during election cycles, when fact-checking and media literacy face pressure from the speed and volume of false content circulation.