Boris Johnson appears to endorse Jeremy Corbyn for prime minister in a convincing deepfake video

Downing Street

Boris Johnson

• The first 'deepfake' video of the UK general election has been produced.
• The convincing footage has been digitally altered to show Boris Johnson endorsing his opponent Jeremy Corbyn.
• Another video of Corbyn appearing to endorse Johnson was also produced.
• Experts have warned that deepfakes could dominate future election campaigns.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A 'deepfake' video of Prime Minister Boris Johnson appearing to endorse Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for prime minister has been broadcast on UK television.

The eerily convincing video, produced by the think tank Future Advocacy for the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Programme, shows Johnson telling voters to back his "worthy opponent" Jeremy Corbyn.

Another video showing Corbyn backing Johnson to "continue as our prime minister" was also produced by the programme.

Watch Boris Johnson appear to endorse Jeremy Corbyn

The scripts for the video were produced using existing footage of the two men which were then digitally manipulated to change their mouth movements to fit a new script which was voiced by impressionists.

Experts have previously warned that so-called deepfake technology could be a major problem in the upcoming US presidential election.

"Deepfakes can be made by anyone with a computer, internet access, and interest in influencing an election," John Villasenor, a professor at UCLA focusing on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity told CNBC.

He added that "they are a powerful new tool for those who might want to (use) misinformation to influence an election."

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