Warning: This work mentions violent scenes from the beginning.
When a video showing the execution of a Hungarian soldier went viral, its disturbing nature shocked those who watched it.
A fake AI-generated video was posted to the social media accounts of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party in February, ahead of the crucial Hungarian general election on Sunday, April 12th.
The film tells the story of a girl who waits for her father to return from the war by the window, before the video cuts to show her father blindfolded, his hands tied, and then shot dead by his captors.
The video targets Orbán’s electoral rival, Péter Magyar, who could oust him after 16 years in power.
The Fidesz camp has sometimes used AI-generated videos like this one to make unsubstantiated claims about the Ukraine war and Magyar intentions, even though the videos are clearly fake.
“This video is an AI video, but war is truly terrifying,” the video says. “Peter Magyar doesn’t want you to see this video. He doesn’t want you to see what an irreversible tragedy it is to participate in a war.”
Fidesz claims that if elected, Magyar of the center-right Tisza party would use pension funds to support Ukraine and even impose compulsory conscription, bringing Russia to the brink of war with Ukraine.
