AI deepfakes are getting weirder, harder to spot in the midterms
An AI-generated deepfake depicts James Talarico, a Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, reading old tweets.
The Wall Street Journal
Political campaigns are employing artificial intelligence in a range of campaign ads to elevate candidates, attack opponents and elicit an emotional response, fueling concerns that the wave of fake content will undermine the midterm elections.
In recent weeks, one video portrayed Texas Senate candidate James Talarico singing a rendition of “My Favorite Things” praising transgender children, while another showed Mike Rogers, a Michigan Senate hopeful, as a Hulk-like figure rescuing people from a collapsing building. There also was a viral video of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt as Batman saving the city from an incumbent depicted as the Joker.
The improvement in free AI tools has fueled an explosion of such content, worrying election analysts and politicians on the receiving end of the deepfakes who say that many voters can’t tell that some of the more lifelike videos are imitations.
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