Spanish Party's AI Video Draws 2M Views and Court Complaint Before 29 November Vote

Spain's main opposition party posted an artificial intelligence video this week that generated nearly 2 million views by Friday and triggered a court complaint, as the country moves toward a general election on 29 November. The People's Party built the clip to show figures tied to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist party appearing to discuss topics including prostitution and kickbacks.

The video includes an AI-generated Begoña Gómez, Sánchez's wife, speaking about obtaining a university post because of her husband's position, and a deepfake of former Socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero describing hiding jewellery in a safe. Both passages refer to open investigations, and both people have denied wrongdoing.

Digital transformation minister Óscar López told broadcaster TVE that the clip was "telling people a colossal lie, and for a party to do it on its official accounts seems intolerable to me." He said the AI label was set in tiny, nearly transparent text at the bottom of the video and could be missed by viewers unfamiliar with the technology. Leire Díez, a former Socialist party member whose image was used, filed a court complaint against the People's Party on Friday and requested the advert's removal, reportedly alleging defamation and digital identity theft.

Legal opinion has largely favored the party. Most of the nine experts consulted by El País said the video was not illegal because it carried an AI label and had a satirical tone. Íñigo Navarro, a former dean of the law faculty at Madrid's Comillas Pontifical University, said viewers understand those people did not say those things given the context. Juan Antonio Lascuraín, a criminal law professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, said legality is separate from whether the video is appropriate or ethically and politically correct.

The People's Party rejected the criticism. Party figure Borja Sémper said a problem would exist only if there had been malicious intent to make people believe the characters were real, and said the video uses digital tools to expose Socialist conduct. José Javier Olivas, an associate professor at Spain's National University for Distance Education who studies populism, conspiracy theories and AI biases, called the use of deepfakes by a party claiming to revitalize democracy regrettable, and said putting words in other people's mouths qualifies as disinformation.

A related dispute is running in the United States before next month's midterm elections. A Wesleyan University research group identified more than 200 ads using AI, most tied to Republicans. Erika Franklin Fowler, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, said spending on AI-generated ads in the 2024 cycle totaled less than $50,000, and that much of the current use carries no disclaimer. Most polls suggest the People's Party will win on 29 November but will need support from the far-right Vox party to form a government.