By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – While fake videos of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris spread on social media but fail to garner much interest, state officials are preparing for what they see as a far more dangerous hoax days before the U.S. presidential election. United States: fake robocalls.

Officials in states from Arizona to Vermont are bracing for fake audio messages transmitted directly to home and mobile phones and out of public view, a concern exacerbated by the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence technology.

And unlike AI-generated photos and videos, which often have small, telltale signs of manipulation, like an extra finger on a person’s hand, it’s harder for the average voter to spot a fake phone call, experts said. .

Ahead of the Nov. 5 election that will pit Harris against Republican Donald Trump, election officials are on alert given the first examples of such calls. In January, a robocall posing as US President Joe Biden circulated in New Hampshire, urging Democrats to stay home during the primaries and “save your vote for the November election.” The political consultant behind the robocall was fined $6 million in September.

“We have already seen examples of audio deepfakes. It’s not something that is this imaginary technology. It’s here,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.

The audio is more concerning because it is difficult to track and verify, said Amy Cohen, executive director of the National Association of State Election Directors, a nonpartisan professional organization for election directors.

“Even without AI, all election officials spend hours chasing each other because of robocalls,” he said.

This is because investigating robocalls (robocalls that deliver a recorded message) depends on people hearing the call correctly, recognizing that the call is fake, and then reporting it to authorities. Election officials rarely receive a recording of the robocall, Cohen added.

To prepare, election directors have considered potential scenarios in training sessions and discussions throughout the year, according to interviews with officials in six states.

‘A WAKE UP CALL’

To arm themselves, officials are using decidedly old-school strategies.

In Colorado, election officials have considered how to react if they themselves are the target of deep fake calls. For example, what should officials do if they receive a call with a voice that sounds like Griswold’s, instructing them to alter voting hours at polling places? Griswold says he has ordered officials to hang up and call his office if they suspect anything out of the ordinary.

“The problem with AI technology is that we literally need to train ourselves not to believe what we see and hear,” he said.

Another tactic more commonly seen in spy novels: Election officials can agree on a secret code word with their colleagues as an additional measure to verify identities over the phone, Cohen said.

State officials say they are particularly concerned about the spread of false information just days before the vote, which will leave them little time to respond.

In addition to working with the media, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office would recruit local and faith leaders trusted by their communities to help debunk false information quickly.

In a rural state like Maine, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said even something as simple as posting signs in towns and at fire stations would help amplify important news.

As misleading content proliferates on social media, the Illinois State Board of Elections began running its first advertising campaign in August warning of election misinformation. The ads aired on about 37 television stations and 270 radio stations.

When thousands of New Hampshire residents received the alleged call from “Biden” urging them not to vote in January, Secretary of State David Scanlan said his office sprang into action. The state attorney general and law enforcement officials issued a statement about the hoax call, prompting coverage on local radio and television.

In the event of another robocall, “I think we would react the same way,” Scanlan said. “We used all the resources we had at our disposal.”

And while there was no indication that Biden’s fake call influenced voters, the incident showed that officials must be prepared for new risks arising from the arrival of AI.

“The robocall was a wake-up call for the country,” he said.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Austin, editing by Deepa Babington)