With Argentina's presidential election fast approaching, a scandal has emerged that could affect the campaign of front-runner Patricia Bullrich. Leaked audio recordings are said to show inappropriate comments and behavior by Bullrich's chosen economy minister, Carlos Melkonian.
The leaks come just weeks before Argentina's PASO's August 13 primaries. PASO, or “Primarias Abiertas Simultáneas y Obligatorias” is Argentina's system of open, simultaneous and mandatory primary elections, a precondition for general elections. It is an essential part of the democratic process of the country by ensuring that there is a fair and transparent process for political parties to select their candidates.
Patricia Bullrich, a key figure in this dramatic drama, is an experienced politician affiliated with the “Juntos por el Cambio” party. Her adamant stance on the accuracy of immersive audio furthered the conversation, bringing the role of AI in modern politics into sharper focus. “The Melkonian audios are edited, they are fake,” she said in a statement reported by Argentinian newspaper Pagina 12. he said.
The audios, released by pro-government journalist Thomas Mendez, allegedly captured Melkonian talking about the indecency of women and offering government jobs for sexual gain.
According to Argentina's Canal Extra TV news channel, in one recording, Melkonian insisted on meeting a woman who was being considered for a post at the Foreign Ministry, asking, “When did you let me meet?” he asked. “You look beautiful, to tell you the truth, that color looks great on you,” he commented on another aspect of the woman's appearance.
Bulrich and her party quickly came to Melkonian's defense, albeit with different explanations.
Bulrich herself dismissed the recordings as “edited” and suggested they could be created using artificial intelligence. However, as reported by other outlets, Bullricht's colleagues admitted the tapes were genuine, but Melkonian, who headed the National Bank between 2015 and 2017, said they were old recordings from the presidency of Mauricio Macri.
The presidential hopeful continued his attack on journalist Mendez, calling him “garbage” for releasing the tapes. She had previously accused him of immorality and suggested the leaks were part of a smear campaign using the doctor's voice.
The scandal comes at a critical juncture for Bullrich as he seeks to oust incumbent Fernandez. Melkonian, a prominent economist who has worked for past administrations on both sides of the political spectrum, was tapped by Bullrich to lead the economy. Any inappropriate noise will hurt the voters as she will give a clean break from the current administration.
In recent years, there have been a number of cases where politicians or political campaigns have used artificial intelligence (AI) or digital enhancement to misrepresent or fabricate images and audio. For example, Matt Hancock, the UK's former health secretary, was doctored to mock the image. In the year In 2021, Twitter went viral. Similarly, a Labor MP shared a misleading picture of Rishi Sunak holding a poorly poured pint and another Labor MP shared a fake picture of the Prime Minister, who later apologised.
In the United States, during Ron DeSantis' campaign, the super PAC supporting him added digital manipulations, particularly fake fighter jets flying over the photo, although a DeSantis member later told DeSantis that no AI was involved. . In addition, AI-generated images have fueled political discourse, as seen in former President Trump's photos debunking viral situations and a Twitter post involving the Devil and Hitler showing profound falsehoods. ‘ Presidential race.
Other issues include Joe Biden's deeply untruthful touching of his granddaughter as an abusive portrayal and the dire future of future generations under Joe Biden's second presidency.
With the election season underway, Argentine voters will soon make their judgment on whether personal scandals outweigh political prospects. If Bulrich hopes to avoid further clues from sinking into her campaign, her team must make sure there aren't any more Melkonian-looking skeletons hidden in their vaults.
