One Nation reportedly screened a new AI-generated campaign video at its Victorian campaign launch over the weekend before the report's publication on 9 October 2026, and the footage has sharpened a debate already running through parliament about AI misinformation in Australian elections.

What the video shows and who saw it

According to the report, the video deploys racist AI-generated imagery, with scenes depicting a man who appears to be African brandishing a machete, an apparently Middle Eastern man with an explosive vest, a South Asian man in a turban appearing in a segment on 'mass migration', and an Indigenous elder featuring in material about need-based payments. Its opening scene shows an AI-generated young man 'coming out' as a conservative to his leftwing family, a scene the advocacy group GetUp noted copies a similar Israeli campaign video from Benjamin Netanyahu.

• •The screening reportedly took place at the party's Victorian campaign launch over the weekend.
• •Guardian Australia, previously barred from One Nation events, did not attempt to attend Saturday's launch.
• •News Corp reported a One Nation spokesperson saying the party was preparing 'another version for broadcast', and an industry source said the tone was unlikely to breach current broadcasting rules.

Most of the coverage around the launch centred elsewhere: on Pauline Hanson's reception, loudspeaker music, and the Trump-esque pledge from candidate Mark Nicholson – the producer of the 'Please Explain' cartoon series – to jail Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan.

Regulators say their powers do not reach it

The regulators most obviously placed to intervene say they cannot. Acma's powers do not extend to this kind of online-only content, while electoral commissions can only regulate misinformation about the electoral process itself – not campaign material of this sort.

One Nation is not alone in using AI in the Victorian contest. The conservative campaign group Advance released its own Victorian AI ad picturing a Labor election win as Daniel Andrews pops champagne corks and leads a conga line. Elsewhere, Liberal MP Jason Wood was factchecked by AAP for posting a fake image of Anthony Albanese arriving at a deserted airport, and AAP also debunked AI-generated political interview-style videos purportedly filmed outside Parliament House.

Parliament hears calls for a deepfake ban

The screening lands as parliament's joint committee on AI hears this week from witnesses who say action is overdue. Senator David Pocock has pushed for two years for government action on generative AI in election campaigns, with 35,000 people signing his online petition calling for Labor to legislate a ban on the use of deepfakes in elections before the next federal election.

The Australian Electoral Commission's submission said AI makes it 'more difficult for people to distinguish between authentic and manipulated content', and warned that inauthentic content or deepfakes during the voting period 'may well compromise the actual or perceived integrity of an election'. A parliamentary report from October 2024 had already warned AI was 'being used to adversely influence or undermine electoral and democratic processes' and to deceive the public.

Prof Terry Flew of the Centre for AI Trust and Governance told the inquiry on Wednesday that Australia had no single agency to address all misinformation risks, and recommended prohibiting AI deepfakes during election periods. He said deepfakes go 'beyond the legitimate bounds of public campaigning' and are 'genuinely threatening' to the individuals and groups they target.

The federal Labor government has so far resisted calls to ban AI-generated content in election periods but is legislating on AI-related harms this year. Meanwhile, One Nation reportedly prepares another version of the video for broadcast.