AI deepfake election ad in Minnesota raises transparency concerns

The election season is ramping up in the United States, meaning that airwaves and social media are flooded with campaign ads.

Candidates, in addition to the political action committees (PACs) supporting and opposing them, are projected to spend a record-breaking $10 billion in ads this cycle. Some of that is going into AI deepfakes. 

At least 15 AI-generated campaign ads have run since November, according to NBC News. Some have used deepfakes to portray a candidate doing or saying things that compromise their campaign’s image.

Transparency advocates say the ads, which are illegal in some states, could harm the integrity of American elections.

Ad runs afoul of local election laws

In the context of campaign ads, AI is mostly governed at the state level. Some 28 states have disclosure laws, while in two states, it is prohibited, though not totally. 

In Minnesota, one ad campaign has already bumped up against local legislation. Minnesota Lt. Governor Penny Flanagan posted on BlueSky on June 3 “you might see a TV ad starring something that... kind of looks like me.”

Flanagan was referring to an ad run by a PAC supporting her opponent in the Senate primary race, fellow Democrat and US Representative Angie Craig. The ad shows Flanagan standing atop a large pile of cash, and criticizes her alleged ties to special interest groups.

“My opponent's super PAC is using an AI deepfake of me to mislead voters. They can't win with the truth - so they're resorting to lies.”

“It's disgusting. Minnesotans deserve better.”

The ad may run afoul of Minnesota campaign laws. In 2023, Democratic State Representative Maye Quade introduced a bill that bans AI deepfakes. It was passed into law, and “anyone who widely shares a deep fake within 90 days of an election” is guilty of a crime. This, provided that the person also:

• Knows or should have known the ad was a deepfake and made without the consent of the depicted person
• Acted with the intent to harm a candidate’s reputation to influence an election

The ads ran after the DFL, Minnesota’s Democratic party, nominated Flanagan, so technically it may have not violated the law. Still, Flanagan's campaign is reportedly consulting lawyers.

Quade told local media that the ad violated the spirit of the law, and that people in general don’t like AI being used this way. “People don’t like this, broadly [...] What campaign on either side of the aisle is going to help voters feel good about their candidate using this?”

Related: Prediction markets legal battles heat up in Minnesota, Rhode Island

On the Democratic side of the aisle, 40 DFL state legislators signed a letter condemning the use of AI deepfakes in campaign materials. They noted that, in 2023, “lawmakers voted nearly unanimously to ban the use of deceptive AI-generated deepfakes in elections, recognizing the threat manipulated AI content poses to voters and public trust.”

“Regardless of party, the use of AI-generated deepfakes in campaign advertising is unacceptable.”

Mark Jablonowski, the CEO of advertising firm DSPolitical, told NBC that he thinks most politicians will rise above it. “I think most campaigns on both sides of the aisle probably want to do the right thing [...] There, of course, are going to be examples that you can point to where people are going about it the wrong way.”

The PAC that issued the ad, North Star Dawn PAC, did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. 

What do election laws say about AI deepfakes?

As noted above, some 30 states have laws on the books regarding AI use in elections. The vast majority of these relate to simple disclosure, with many states only having civil penalties for infractions. 

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC), the regulator responsible for creating funding, disclosure and other rules concerning elections. Regarding ads, the FEC told Cointelegraph:

“Commission regulations require clear and conspicuous disclaimers to appear on certain campaign advertisements, including public communications that are distributed by a federal candidate’s campaign committee.There is also a prohibition against ‘fraudulent misrepresentation.’”

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, submitted a petition for rulemaking before the FEC in 2023, asking the commission to issue rules for AI. Instead, the body “decided not to initiate a rulemaking.”

“The Commission determined that the statute’s fraudulent misrepresentation ban is technology neutral, applying to all means of the specified fraud, including AI-assisted media.”

One may not expect quick action from the federal government, at least not from Congress, on AI. In 2023, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Yvette Clarke, both Democrats, introduced the REAL Political Advertisements Act in their respective chambers. However, the bill failed to pass in either house. 

If anything, the US Congress shows a total unwillingness to meaningfully regulate AI. Nearly one year ago, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. The final version narrowly avoided including a 10-year ban on any state and local regulation of AI, giving the industry carte blanche for anything from building data centers to how AI would be used in popular media. 

Now, two Congressmen are back at it. Democrat Lori Trahan and Republican Jay Obernolte on June 4 introduced a bill that, if passed, would ban states from passing laws “targeting artificial intelligence model development."

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) “This could include anything from privacy regulations to antidiscrimination requirements to AI safety laws.”

The ACLU noted that the aforementioned 10-year ban was stripped from the Senate file in a near-unanimous 99-1 vote.

Jina John, senior policy counsel for AI, privacy and technology at the ACLU, said, “This draft bill fails to learn from Congress’s previous attempts to block state AI regulations. States must be able to protect their own residents from harm, hold tech companies accountable, and ensure that AI is safe and trustworthy.”

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