AI-generated influencer spreads far-right narratives to millions unchecked on Facebook, The Independent finds | The Independent Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent<br>Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.<br>Not nowYes please
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Facebook takes no action on AI-generated far-right ‘influence campaign’ after it was flagged a month ago<br>Tech giant has taken no action against far-right, AI-generated videos about Britain and gives no indication they are fake or created thousands of miles away, an investigation by Hebe Campbell reveals
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Facebook takes no action on AI-generated far-right ‘influence campaign’ after it was flagged a month ago
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A nurse breaking down in tears, claiming she was sacked for posting her views on immigration online. A farmer accusing the Labour government of deliberately destroying British agriculture in favour of imported foreign meat. A man watching migrants arrive on England's shores, claiming they are handed luxury accommodation on arrival.<br>These politically charged, divisive videos about Britain have racked up millions of views, but they're all created using artificial intelligence (AI) and produced by people more than 5,000 miles away.<br>The page, Life in Britain, has more than 100,000 Facebook followers. Despite all of its videos being AI-generated, none come with warnings from Facebook, owned by parent company Meta, despite The Independent flagging this with the tech firm more than a month ago.
Facebook's transparency information on the page shows that the page's managers are based in Sri Lanka, despite producing content aimed at UK audiences.<br>open image in gallery
This AI generated video claims to show a large protest in central London (Facebook)<br>Experts at Resemble AI, a deepfake and synthetic media detection company, told The Independent the account could be part of an AI-generated influence campaign designed to amplify British political narratives online.
Resemble AI analysed the videos for The Independent and found several signs they had been generated using AI, including unnatural audio and visual flaws such as distorted faces. It assessed the videos as 97 per cent likely to have been AI-generated.
“It's not uncommon to get social engineering attacks from foreign entities. You get scam calls that don't originate at all inside the UK. This is very similar,” Zohaib Ahmed, Founder at Resemble AI said.<br>Facebook told The Independent on 29 May that it was investigating the account after it was brought to their attention, but did not provide a timeline for the investigation or say whether any action would be taken. When asked whether this account was monetised, Facebook did not respond.
Dr Lukasz Olejnik, visiting senior researcher fellow at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, told The Independent: “The use of AI-generated influence and propaganda content is on the rise. AI-generated video is particularly significant because it can create false visual evidence that is easy to share, emotionally persuasive, and difficult to verify quickly. These tools can be used by individuals, coordinated non-state and state actors”.<br>open image in gallery
This AI-generated video falsely claimed to show migrants arriving in the UK by boat (Facebook)<br>Dr Olejnik added: “For the UK, the risk is not only that voters may believe a single false video, but that repeated exposure can weaken trust in institutions, journalism, elections, and foreign policy decisions.
“And in the leadership, including in times of crisis. This creates opportunities for external actors to exploit sensitive political debates, like security, migration, protest, defence policy, and relations with allies.”<br>The potential ramifications of this kind of online content has not gone unnoticed. Last year, research submitted to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee showed AI-generated images portraying Muslims as a threat fuelled the Southport riots in the summer of 2024.<br>Far-right accounts were reportedly spreading manipulated images online that reinforced racist stereotypes, including depictions of Muslims carrying guns or wearing suicide vests.<br>The London School of Economics study found that social media posts containing these visual depictions of racist conspiracy theories were amplified 30 per cent more than others.<br>Researchers from LSE warned that the rise of AI-generated material, combined with the way social media algorithms reward divisive content, is accelerating radicalisation and making extremist ideas more visible.<br>The rise of online...