One Nation’s AI-Generated Election Video Sparks Debate Over Deepfakes and Regulation

At a Victorian campaign launch over the weekend, One Nation unveiled an AI-generated video titled “Coming Out.” The clip ends with crowds storming Victoria’s Parliament House while waving rainbow-laced signs. The party’s spokesperson said a broadcast-ready version is being prepared, which could bring the material under the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (Acma) remit.

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Australia’s electoral commissions can police misinformation that directly misleads voters about the electoral process, but they lack authority over deceptive content that does not purport to be factual. Senator David Pocock’s online petition has gathered 35,000 signatures urging Labor to legislate a ban on deepfakes before the next federal election. The joint committee on AI recently heard witnesses argue that action is overdue.

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> “There are real risks that AI-generated misinformation, as well as what has come to be known as ‘AI slop’, will further erode public trust in institutions and degrade the wider information ecosystem,” — Prof Terry Flew, Centre for AI Trust and Governance.

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Prof Flew told the parliamentary inquiry that Australia currently has no single agency to address all misinformation risks and recommended prohibiting AI-generated deepfakes during election periods.

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One Nation intends to adapt the video for broadcast, though an industry source believes the tone is unlikely to breach existing broadcasting rules. The party’s Victorian campaign group Advance has already produced a separate AI ad portraying a Labor victory, underscoring how AI lowers production costs for inflammatory content.

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In Tasmania, Lee Hanson, the state leader of One Nation, said she was “genuinely hurt” after a local café announced it would donate proceeds from One Nation customers to the Tasmanian Greens. The café’s owner framed the donation as a protest against the party’s AI ad, highlighting broader public backlash.

Independent AustraliaPauline Hanson's daughter Lee erupts as she is shamed by her local coffee shop - as owner reveals she donates One Nation money to the Greens The Guardian

Beyond the petition, the video has drawn criticism from progressive groups such as GetUp, which noted the ad’s similarity to an Israeli campaign video for Benjamin Netanyahu. LGBTQ+ advocates have also condemned the appropriation of “coming out” language, arguing that sexual orientation is not a choice, unlike a voter’s decision to support a far-right party.

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• 35,000 signatures on Senator Pocock’s petition to ban election-period deepfakes.

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• Multiple AI-generated political videos have been fact-checked by the Australian Associated Press, including a fake image of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arriving at a deserted airport.

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Acma’s powers cover broadcast content but not online videos that remain solely on digital platforms. Should the party release a broadcast version, it may enter Acma’s remit, yet an industry source believes the ad’s tone would still likely avoid breaching existing broadcasting standards. This regulatory ambiguity leaves a gap between policing misinformation and addressing offensive, AI-generated political material.

The Guardian

• “There are real risks that AI-generated misinformation, as well as what has come to be known as ‘AI slop’, will further erode public trust in institutions and degrade the wider information ecosystem,” — House. Prof Terry Flew

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