‘AI, deepfakes used to erode trust’: EC Vivek Joshi tells media officers at ECI conference

Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi warned that artificial intelligence, deepfakes and synthetic content designed to mislead are being spread by motivated actors to erode trust in institutions, speaking at the Election Commission of India’s Third One-Day Conference for Media and Communication Officers. He urged Media and Communication Officers to counter such attempts using the Commission’s rules and guidelines.

The conference brought together around 200 Media Nodal Officers, Social Media Nodal Officers, District Media Nodal Officers and District PROs, along with senior officers from State Departments of Public Relations, representing 10 States and Union Territories.

Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar, also addressing the gathering, said every action taken by the Commission is grounded in the Constitution of India, electoral laws and transparent written instructions. He cautioned participants about false narratives on social media and cited the highest-ever voter turnouts in recent Assembly Elections as evidence of electors’ trust in the system.

Sessions covered communication strategy through the election cycle, ECINET, and laws on media matters, along with practical training on press note amplification, misinformation response, and engaging young electors via Electoral Literacy Clubs. Participants were also shown demonstrations of electoral roll preparation, polling and counting processes, followed by a Q&A with the Commission.