{"id":15393,"date":"2026-03-23T10:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T02:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15393"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T02:52:13","slug":"ai-generated-ads-are-trickling-into-political-campaigns-sparking-big-worries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15393","title":{"rendered":"AI-generated ads are trickling into political campaigns, sparking big worries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At least 15 campaign ads featuring AI-generated content have run since November, stoking concerns that the now-ubiquitous technology could cause confusion or even mislead voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In state, local and federal elections across the country, AI has been everywhere from school board campaigns to governor\u2019s races, used to enhance speech, turn politicians into cartoons or, in one notable case in Massachusetts, mimic a rival politician\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the state\u2019s gubernatorial race, the campaign of Republican primary candidate Brian Shortsleeve created an AI-generated radio ad that sounds like Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, using Healey\u2019s \u201cvoice\u201d to say things she never actually said, including about the state\u2019s economy. The clip does not contain an explicit AI disclaimer, and instead the caption says it\u2019s what her radio ads would sound like \u201cif she was honest.\u201d Shortsleeve\u2019s campaign has also released AI-generated videos depicting Healey as the Grinch and another of her hissing with red eyes, neither of which contained explicit AI disclaimers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Nelson, Shortsleeve\u2019s communications director, said the campaign uses AI to educate voters in a \u201ccreative, humorous, and fun\u201d way, adding that its policy is to disclose AI use if it depicts a person in a way that is \u201cnot obvious to a reasonable viewer.\u201d Healey\u2019s campaign directed NBC News to a statement from the Massachusetts Democratic Party in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe should stop lying to voters and tell them the truth \u2014 he will be a rubber stamp on President Trump\u2019s harmful agenda,\u201d said MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, the National Republican Senatorial Committee last week released an AI-generated video of James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, reading real tweets on race and transgender rights. Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said in response to the ad that the Republican primary candidates are the ones who are \u201cscared\u201d of the Democrat, according to CN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the local level, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s recent mayoral campaign in New York City used AI in a few ads, including one depicting criminals in support of now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani. And in Texas, Rep. Jasmine Crockett drew attention and plenty of scrutiny for her Senate campaign\u2019s use of AI, while her likeness was also used in Republican AI ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ads demonstrate that AI is not just coming for political campaigns \u2014 it\u2019s already here. Now, it\u2019s a question of where the lines are both legally and ethically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnytime generative AI is used to create messaging or imagery that is misleading, I hope we can all agree that\u2019s a negative thing,\u201d said Mark Jablonowski, the CEO of DSPolitical, a progressive advertising firm. \u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to be deceitful or have something that never existed, that\u2019s a big issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI video generators have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, starting off with crude and at times bizarre clips to now being capable of ultrarealistic media that requires particularly close inspection to determine its synthetic origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producing political ads is not cheap. The cost can range anywhere from around $1,000 to orders of magnitude more, depending on factors such as production costs, casting, postproduction costs and distribution, according to Media Culture, a media buying and marketing company. For smaller campaigns with less resources \u2014 and larger ones too \u2014 AI-generated imagery can be a cost saver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the overall size of the campaign itself. It\u2019s, are they hiring an ad agency that is running on thin margins and needs to do this, or needs to turn it around in a certain amount of time, very quickly?\u201d said Todd Belt, a professor at George Washington University and director of its political management program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with efficiency comes the risk of deceiving voters. Jablonowski said the bigger concern of AI-generated imagery in political communications is when individuals who create those products don\u2019t follow ethical guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI usage in political ads is largely regulated at the state level. Twenty-six states have laws regulating the use of political deepfakes \u2014 which use AI to create deceptively realistic video or audio \u2014 and either require their disclosure or prohibit their use within a certain time frame before an election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some state legislatures, including in Maine and Vermont, have introduced bills to require disclosures on AI-generated imagery in political advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the federal level, AI regulation has remained in limbo. In 2023, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Rep. Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., introduced the REAL Political Advertisements Act, which would require AI disclosures on political ads. Neither bill made it to a vote in their respective chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Jablonowski believes AI-generated ads will only ramp up as the midterms approach, he believes that politicians will rise above them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe good news is, I think most campaigns on both sides of the aisle probably want to do the right thing,\u201d Jablonowski said. \u201cThere, of course, are going to be examples that you can point to where people are going about it the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least 15 campaign ads featuring AI-generated content have run since November, stoking concerns that the now-ubiquitous technology could cause confusion or even mislead voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In state, local and federal elections across the country, AI has been everywhere from school board campaigns to governor\u2019s races, used to enhance speech, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3621,1639,4034],"class_list":["post-15393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-ads","tag-ai","tag-generated"],"yoast_head":"\nAI-generated ads are trickling into political campaigns, sparking big worries - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15393\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI-generated ads are trickling into political campaigns, sparking big worries - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At least 15 campaign ads featuring AI-generated content have run since November, stoking concerns that the now-ubiquitous technology could cause confusion or even mislead voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 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