The parliamentary elections in September 2023 were the first in Slovakia’s history to be influenced by generative artificial intelligence. Just two days before the elections, a fake audio recording of a conversation between Michal Šimečka and journalist Monika Tódová started circulating on the social network Telegram. The voices generated by AI appeared to discuss election fraud. AFP quickly flagged the recording as a fake, citing expert analysis and noting inconsistencies in the voices and speech patterns. Despite this, the recording reached over 100,000 people, reinforcing fears that Slovakia’s elections could be manipulated—a narrative pushed by disinformation campaigns and politicians since spring 2023. While the police concluded the investigation, arguing that the perpetrator could not be tracked down, the prosecutor has ordered to reopen the case.
On September 28, 2023, an audio recording surfaced online, allegedly capturing a conversation between Progressive Slovakia chairman Michal Šimečka and Denník N journalist Monika Tódová about rigging the upcoming elections in favor of Progressive Slovakia (PS). Released two days before the elections, during the pre-election moratorium, the recording quickly gained traction, gathering thousands of shares across platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. The original author initially posted it on Telegram, but AFP debunked it the same day, describing it as “a recording with numerous signs of manipulation” due to poor voice quality, unintelligible passages, and unnatural speech patterns.
The recording had tens of thousands of views in a short time, the original author cannot be traced
The Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak (ICJK) traced the recording’s spread on Telegram to an account belonging to former politician and Supreme Court judge Štefan Harabin, whose post garnered over 13,000 views. Harabin had shared it from a private account, “Gabika Ha,” but attempts to trace its origin ended there. On Facebook, former MP for the Sme rodina party, Peter Marček, played a key role in spreading the video. According to AFP fact-checker Robert Barca, at least 100,000 people saw the recording on Facebook, with another 30,000 views on Instagram. It also spread via email and WhatsApp.
The election campaign was also accompanied by other AI-generated recordings
This was not the only case of fake AI-generated recordings during the election. On September 27, 2023, Demagog.sk debunked another AI-generated recording of Michal Šimečka, falsely claiming he planned to drastically increase beer prices after the elections. In a similar attempt to overwhelm the information space, a report about an alleged recording featuring Pavlína Matovičová, wife of former PM Igor Matovič, discussing election-related matters. Lead Stories portal labeled this as fake, pointing out its unnatural speech.
The recording was part of an election manipulation narrative
The fake Šimečka-Tódová recording gained the most traction, fitting into a broader narrative about election fraud, a theme amplified by parties like Smer-SD and Republika since early 2023. Research by the Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO) found that 53% of Slovaks believed the elections could be manipulated. The same result was also shown in a survey conducted by the GLOBSEC think-tank, in which 53% of people in Slovakia feared election manipulation.
Demagog.sk also refuted disinformation on social networks that warned of election manipulation. Disinformation also targeted companies like ESET, falsely claiming they influenced vote counting, despite their lack of involvement. The Centre for Combating Hybrid Threats (CBHH) at the Ministry of the Interior also monitored the spread of disinformation about possible election fraud.
The police assessed the recording as insufficiently persuasive to investigate
After the election, all relevant parties, including Republika, which narrowly missed the parliamentary threshold with 4.75% of the votes, accepted the results. Journalist Monika Tódová, a frequent target of disinformation campaigns, filed a criminal complaint with the ICJK over the fake recording. However, according to Denník N, the police concluded the recording was not persuasive enough to warrant a criminal investigation.
The Centre for Combating Hybrid Threats at the Ministry of the Interior described the recording as deceptive content with a significant impact on the credibility of the elections. It also drew attention to a Russian intelligence report, from Thursday, 28 September 2023, about alleged American efforts to influence the Slovak vote.
International outlets like Bloomberg, the Sunday Times, and Wired covered the issue, raising concerns about AI’s role in future elections, including Slovakia’s 2024 presidential election and the European Parliament elections. However, disinformation generated by artificial intelligence did not significantly interfere in these election campaigns.
The prosecutor, disagreeing with the police’s initial conclusion, ordered a new investigation. This time, the police questioned former MP Peter Marček, who said that he did not know what deepfake was, and a Facebook group admin who insisted the elections had been rigged. Despite this, the police failed to interview Štefan Harabin, who shared the recording on the Telegram network or consult IT experts to analyze the recording’s metadata.
In October 2024, the investigation was halted, concluding that the perpetrator could not be tracked down. Tódová filed a complaint, prompting the prosecutor to reopen the case, focusing on identifying the recording’s author. This will be the third time the police investigates the fake recording.
International outlets like Bloomberg, the Sunday Times, and Wired covered the issue, raising concerns about AI’s role in future elections, including Slovakia’s 2024 presidential election and the European Parliament elections. However, disinformation generated by artificial intelligence did not significantly interfere in these election campaigns.
Authors: Timotej Kováčik and Veronika Frankovská, Demagog.sk