New polling commissioned by the cross-party think tank Demos indicates that political deepfakes have become a significant issue in the United Kingdom's electoral environment.

According to a survey of 2,005 adults conducted by Opinium between 30 April and 6 May, approximately 30 per cent of voters reported seeing a deepfake or AI-generated video, audio clip or image involving a politician or election candidate in the period leading up to local and devolved elections.Based on population estimates, this would represent around 16.5 million UK adults.

The research found that 16 per cent of respondents encountered such content more than five times, suggesting repeated exposure among a substantial minority of voters.

Labour and Reform politicians were reportedly among the most common subjects of UK-related political deepfakes, while internationally Donald Trump was the most frequently identified figure.

Many respondents who had seen deepfakes described them as negative in tone, with more than half stating that the content portrayed its subjects unfavourably.

The findings have prompted warnings from Demos, which described the situation as a potential threat to democratic debate and called for stronger legal protections against AI-generated election misinformation.

The organisation urged the government to use ongoing electoral legislation to establish clearer responsibilities for technology platforms and AI developers.

Chi Onwurah, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, also expressed concern about the impact of deepfakes on public trust and democratic processes, arguing that existing safeguards are insufficient.

The study further revealed uncertainty among the public, with 39 per cent unsure whether they had encountered deepfake content and 43 per cent lacking confidence in their ability to identify it.

The Electoral Commission is currently running a deepfake detection pilot, while the government says that measures under the Online Safety Act and specialist monitoring teams are being used to address evolving online misinformation threats during election periods.