Deepfake audio of Slovak party leader on election eve
Two days before Slovakia's 30 Sept 2023 parliamentary election, fabricated audio purporting to show Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Šimečka and journalist Monika Tódová discussing vote rigging spread on Telegram and Facebook during the pre-election silence period. Fact-checkers identified it as synthetic, but its timing limited rebuttal.
Damage
unquantified; >100,000 estimated Facebook views and >5,000 reshares; effect on outcome not established
The capability behind it
- VALL-E clones a voice from 3 seconds of audioJan 5, 2023 · Microsoft Research · reliable for a defined task: yes
Sources
Vsquare, second source. Often cited as the first election where an audio deepfake circulated at a decisive moment; causal impact on the result is unproven.
Factor ratings and the score are this index’s judgments by a published formula; facts, dates and figures come from the linked sources. Where a lawsuit is pending, the summary reports allegations, not findings.
