As the 13th national parliamentary election draws closer, concerns over disinformation and fake videos created using artificial intelligence (AI) are growing.

Recent elections held in countries such as the United States, India, Turkey, and Argentina have provided numerous examples of how dangerous AI-generated fake videos—or deepfakes—as well as cheapfakes produced by cheaply replicating media photo cards to spread false statements, can be.

In many cases, vested groups have created and circulated deepfakes and cheapfakes on social media, influencing election outcomes and even forcing elections to be postponed.

In a country like Bangladesh, where digital literacy is, quite literally, in a dire state, the risks are far greater—a warning long issued by fact-checking organisations and information technology experts.

Although the interim government and the Election Commission have repeatedly spoken about the risks of disinformation, deepfakes, and cheapfakes in elections, it would not be an exaggeration to say that little effective action has been taken in practice.