Pakistan’s jailed leader Imran Khan uses AI-crafted speech to lure votes

Tariq Butt, Correspondent / Reuters, AFP

Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, whose party isn’t allowed to hold public rallies, used an audio clip generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) late Sunday to address a virtual rally in the first event of its kind in the country.
Imran Khan has been locked up since August and is being tried for leaking classified documents, allegations he says have been trumped up to stop him contesting general elections due in February.
But his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party used AI to make a four-minute message from the 71-year-old, headlining a “virtual rally” hosted on social media overnight on Sunday into Monday despite Internet disruptions which monitor NetBlocks said were consistent with previous attempts to censor Imran Khan.
PTI said Imran sent a shorthand script through lawyers which was fleshed out into his rhetorical lingo.
The text was then dubbed into audio using a tool from AI firm ElevenLabs, which boasts the ability to create a “voice clone” from existing speech samples.
“My fellow Pakistanis, I would first like to praise the social media team for this historic attempt,” the voice mimicking Imran Khan said. “Maybe you all are wondering how I am doing in jail,” the stilted voice adds. “Today, my determination for real freedom is very strong.”
“Our party is not allowed to hold public rallies,” Imran said in the clip, urging supporters to turn out in large numbers at general elections set for Feb.8. “Our people are being kidnapped and their families are being harassed.”
The audio clip drew more than 1.4 million views on YouTube and was attended live by tens of thousands on other social media platforms.
The audio was broadcast at the end of a five-hour live-stream of speeches by PTI supporters on Facebook, X and YouTube, and was overlaid with historic footage of Imran Khan and still images.