Ireland is just days away from electing a new president — a mostly ceremonial role, though the office does carry constitutional responsibilities like appointing the Taoiseach, or prime minister, and referring legislation to the courts, granting the post real authority.

This year, independent progressive Catherine Connolly has surged ahead in the polls, commanding a comfortable lead over her sole rival, the center-right Heather Humphreys. That makes it all the more jarring that, just days before the vote, a video started making the rounds of Connolly telling supporters she was dropping out of the race, automatically granting Humphreys the presidency.

There’s just one small wrinkle: Connolly never actually withdrew. It was the latest case of a hoax perpetuated by a deepfake, meaning an AI-

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