I Was Never in the AI.R.A: an Experimental Study on the Use of Manipulated Audio for the Censorship of Political Dissidents

During the conflict in Northern Ireland known as “the Troubles”, audio recordings of 10 controversial political groups were banned by the British government from being broadcast. Interestingly, video recordings of these people were instead overdubbed by paid actors, implying that the political figures’ original voices were somehow more convincing, legitimate or sexy than the actors. This study uses AI-generated audio to examine whether this censorship method affects opinions of political dissidents. We carried out a between-subjects experimental study (n = 636), where we compared three different types of AI-generated vocal manipulations with unedited footage of two well-known Northern Irish politicians. We found a significant negative effect of voice manipulation on perceived charisma, legitimization and credibility. Participants also voiced strong disapproval and concern at the idea of using AI to revoice historical footage. We discuss implications of AI assisted audio and video translation of politically sensitive media.