‘Inflexion point’: AI meme wars hit India election, test social platforms

Political parties are pushing the limits of AI’s use to both ridicule opponents and boost their own popularity.

Bengaluru, India – On February 20, India’s chief opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), uploaded a video parodying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Instagram that has amassed over 1.5 million views.

It is a short clip from a new Hindi music album named “Chor” (thief), where Modi’s digital likeness is grafted onto the lead singer. The song’s lyrics were humorously reworked to describe a thief’s – in this case, a business tycoon’s – attempt to steal, and Modi handing over coal mines, ports, power lines and ultimately, the country.

The video isn’t hyperrealistic, but a pithy AI meme that uses Modi’s voice and face clones, to drive home the nagging criticism of his close ties to Indian business moguls.

That same day, the official Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) handle on Instagram, with over seven million followers, uploaded its own video. The one-minute clip is a supercut of Modi campaigning on the streets atop his car, spliced with real visuals of all the beneficiaries. What’s unique is the background score: an old patriotic Hindi song sung by legendary singer Mahendra Kapoor, who passed away in 2008, recreated in an AI voice.

The lyrics were modified to highlight Modi’s achievements over the past nine years, including helping farmers and enabling Indian scientists to land a rover on the moon. Audio forensic experts, who tested the clip upon Al Jazeera’s request, confirmed that they are AI-generated.

While AI-enabled meme wars have been taking place over the past year, this is the first time both BJP and the INC have created and shared AI-crafted political content on official party handles, without