AI-Generated Fake Video of Kishida, Japanese PM, Spreading... "We Will Respond" (Comprehensive)

Breaking News Manipulation Appears Live Broadcast
"Nittere News and Logo Misused... Unforgivable"

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A deepfake video of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida created using artificial intelligence (AI) has spread on social media (SNS).

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 4th, the video features Prime Minister Kishida in a suit appearing to make sexual remarks, and it displays the logo of the local private broadcaster Nippon Television (Nittere) news program.

It also includes text such as LIVE and BREAKING NEWS, giving the impression that the prime minister’s remarks are being broadcast live as urgent breaking news.

The 3-minute 43-second fake video was originally posted this summer on internet video channels like "Niconico."

Later, a shortened 30-second version was uploaded to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on the 2nd, garnering over 2.32 million views within a day.

A 25-year-old man living in Osaka admitted to the Yomiuri Shimbun that he created and uploaded the fake video of Prime Minister Kishida using generative AI, saying, "I made it for fun."

The man revealed that he trained the AI on the prime minister’s voice from publicly available videos such as press conferences and speeches at the Liberal Democratic Party convention to prepare the fake audio.

He also said he used the Nittere news program that covered Kishida’s online press conference.

Nittere stated, "We absolutely cannot tolerate the misuse of Nittere’s broadcasts and program logos in fake videos," and added, "We will take appropriate measures as necessary."

It is known that since last year, the man has also created and posted fake videos of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in addition to Kishida.

Fake videos, photos, and articles of famous politicians and celebrities have become a problem not only in Japan but also in several other countries.

In March, a fake photo showing former U.S. President Donald Trump, a leading Republican presidential candidate, being arrested and dragged in Manhattan, New York, spread online; this too was created using AI.