{
  "id": 12660164,
  "title": "713 deepfakes of political leaders taken down since 2025",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/713-deepfakes-of-political-leaders-taken-down-since-2025-12660164",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-07T15:18:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/07/713-deepfakes-of-political-leaders-taken-down-since-2025"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has taken down a total of 713 deepfakes involving political leaders since the beginning of 2025, according to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. The content was removed following complaints and breaches of community guidelines and local laws, after service providers received takedown requests from MCMC. Fahmi dismissed allegations of selective enforcement, stating that the commission adheres to the law and does not consider political leanings. Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act outlines the criteria for determining if an act is unlawful, including intent and specific content definitions, such as false, obscene, and offensive material. Before prosecution, cases are reviewed by the Attorney-General's Chambers, providing an additional layer of oversight to ensure compliance with the law. This response addressed questions from Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden, a PAS Youth chief, regarding the number of complaints in 2025 and 2026, as well as the government's efforts to prevent selective enforcement against certain political groups.",
  "summary": "Service providers removed the content from their platforms after MCMC submitted takedown requests.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "713 deepfakes of political leaders taken offline",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/713-deepfakes-of-political-leaders-taken-offline",
        "published": "2026-10-07T15:14:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "713 deepfakes of political leaders taken down since 2025",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/713-deepfakes-of-political-leaders-taken-down-since-2025",
        "published": "2026-10-07T15:18:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}