20260314 KI im Wahlkampf

AI in Election Campaigns

Without significant technical effort, it is no longer possible to tell whether a photo or video is genuine or whether someone has created it using AI. Furthermore, the statements made in a video do not necessarily come from the person depicted, even if the voice sounds similar. That is why the co-president of Public Citizen says: “Political deepfakes are a profound threat to our democracy because there is no realistic way for voters to know that they are seeing fake representations.”

In the linked article, Stephen Prager cites as an example the video posted on Wednesday on the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) page on X. The video parodies (a version of) Texas Democrat James Talarico (D-50). Talarico, who won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas in a primary earlier this month, is portrayed making extreme statements — as someone who praises transgender people, distorts Christian beliefs, and advocates for open borders.

The individual statements are essentially true, but they come from posts that are at least several years old, or even more than a decade old. They were arbitrarily spliced together — more so than the BBC montages Trump complained about a few months ago — and they were combined using AI into “a single statement” in which his AI avatar smiles and lovingly introduces these posts.

Only a small, translucent watermark in the lower right corner of the video, reading “AI Generated,” indicates that it is a fake. Following a similar video released by Republicans showing a simulated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) celebrating the government shutdown, this is yet another attempt to influence the election campaign using AI.

More than half of all U.S. states already have legislation that (far too weakly) “regulates” the use of AI deepfakes for election-related content. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is now calling for such content to be prevented at the federal level as well.

The EU AI Act is also insufficiently prepared for this use of AI. It merely stipulates a requirement — enforceable with fines starting in August 2026—for clear labeling of AI-generated content.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Kommentar: RE: 20260314 KI im Wahlkampf

Dr. Rainer, we have a new key race that could swing the 2026 elections. Texas’ James Talarico won his primary and will advance to the general election for US Senate!
Talarico puts Texas on the map as a Senate seat to flip this cycle. But make no mistake: Big Polluters will do everything they can to beat him. To flip Congress into a pro-clean-energy majority, we need to expand the map into states like Texas.

EDF Action Votes, 14:39