AI Deepfakes Are Already in Full Force This Election Season

For years, we have been warned about the deleterious effects of deepfakes on our elections: AI-generated videos that can dupe voters into believing candidates have said or done things they haven't. Now, well into the generative artficial intelligence (AI) revolution and with the midterms months away, they have become a "meme-y, juvenile feature" of everyday politics—including in last night's primary elections.

In a tense Michigan Senate race, an attack video released by Republican candidate Mike Rogers, almost certainly made with the help of AI, depicts the Democratic nominee, Abdul El Sayed, as Odysseus. He's shown entering Michigan in a Trojan horse alongside national Democratic icons Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. The video was viewed at least 2 million times on X. In the Massachusetts governor’s race, the campaign of Republican candidate Brian Shortsleeve has also released AI-generated videos maligning Governor Maura Healey. One Halloween-themed ad portrays the Democrat as a vampire in her "house of horrors," while another imitates her voice in a mocking "radio ad."

These are part of a broader trend. An ad released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee targeting James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, features an AI-generated version of the candidate reading his past (and perhaps most polarizing) tweets aloud. Months ago, after Zohran Mamdani won the race to become mayor of New York, anonymous social media accounts used AI to generate synthetic local voters criticizing him.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.