Pakistan’s Election Commission has proposed rules that would require campaign material generated or substantially altered with AI to be labelled, and would bar deceptive deepfakes and automated accounts used to fake public support. The proposal also covers AI-generated robocalls and voice-cloned messages, with feedback open until 20 November, Pakistan Today reports.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The proposed amendments to Pakistan’s election code would prohibit creating or distributing AI material intended to deceive voters or misrepresent a person’s words, actions or appearance. Campaigns would have to disclose AI-generated or AI-assisted material, including deepfake images, videos, audio and synthetic voices.
The rules would also ban AI-powered bots used to manufacture trends, likes, comments, shares or followers. AI-generated robocalls and voice-cloned voter messages would need to identify themselves as AI-made at the outset. Parties and candidates would have to keep records of campaign material made or assisted by AI and provide details to the Election Commission if asked.
The commission has invited stakeholders to comment by 20 November 2026. These are proposed rules, not requirements currently in force.
Why it matters
The proposal reaches beyond deepfakes to the quieter machinery of campaign influence: fake engagement and synthetic voice messages. It would put disclosure, record-keeping and responsibility for AI-assisted political material into the election code, while also setting expectations for media organisations, platforms and election observers.
Our read
This is a fairly practical attempt to tackle several ways AI could distort an election, rather than treating deepfake video as the whole problem. The useful test will be whether the final rules make disclosure and enforcement clear enough to work during a campaign, when “label it properly” is easier said than done.
What to watch
- Whether the commission changes the draft after the consultation closes on 20 November.
- How the final rules define disclosure and the records campaigns must retain.
- What monitoring, reporting and removal powers are included in the final code.
Discussion spark: Should election rules require campaigns to disclose all AI-assisted material, or only material that could mislead voters?
Sources and evidence
- ECP proposes ban on AI deepfakes, fake trends during electio – Pakistan Today (26 October 2026, 13:53 UTC)
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