Generative artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to create political advertisements that present realistic but fabricated scenes or statements. The Wesleyan Media Project found that through Oct. 11 there were 220 ads produced in whole or in part with AI, with $137 million spent on those spots, predominantly from Republican sources.
The central concern is that deepfake and AI tools let campaigns put words in opponents’ mouths or stage events that never occurred. Election and advertising laws have not kept pace with that capability: there is no federal law specifically regulating AI-generated political ads.
State-level rules: limited bans and patchwork disclosure requirements
According to available counts, four states have laws that prohibit certain uses of AI-generated deepfakes in political ads, while 27 additional states require some form of disclosure when AI is used. The scope and enforcement of these rules vary widely, and in many places there are no effective penalties for failing to disclose.
Notable campaign examples
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Georgia (Senate): The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republicans, ran a series of AI-generated videos depicting Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff receiving beauty treatments. The ads mocked Ossoff’s reported campaign spending on hair and makeup, saying he "talks pretty" but has an "ugly record" and "a lot to cover up." In a C-SPAN interview Ossoff said, "It is deeply troubling to see ... deepfake videos used to fabricate political advertising. And it's a slippery slope toward the destruction of truth in political debate, and the ad should come down immediately." The ads did not disclose AI use; Georgia law does not require such disclosure.
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Michigan (Senate): A super PAC called Front Line Action used AI in an ad that depicts Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in a fabricated family photo with podcaster Hasan Piker and four women wearing niqabs. Another AI-generated scene shows El-Sayed playing a Risk-style board game with his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, and Piker; the game includes cards bearing phrases such as "Death to America," "Do not Celebrate Thanksgiving" and "Celebrate 9/11." Front Line Action told CNN the ad is "grounded in El-Sayed's own public statements and documented reporting and records concerning him and individuals associated with or supportive of his campaign." The ad carries both written and spoken disclosure that it was "created in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence."
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New York (governor): Republican Bruce Blakeman's campaign and allied super PACs have repeatedly used generative AI in ads targeting Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, with varying levels of disclosure. One AI-generated ad released by the Blakeman campaign depicts the Tooth Fairy saying she "just can't afford to be the Tooth Fairy in Kathy Hochul's New York." Another spot displays on-screen text: "We asked AI what a truthful Kathy Hochul ad would look like," and shows AI-generated scenes of Hochul attending an upscale dinner and standing outside a police precinct while a man asks her: "Want some crack?"
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Pennsylvania (governor): A new ad from Republican Stacy Garrity features an AI-generated version of Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro appearing to talk about taxes, abortion and data centers. The spot inserts a line allegedly from him: "This ad was created with AI, thanks to big, beautiful data centers. Fact is, I was the one who fast-tracked data centers right here in PA, right after they handed me $5 million in political contributions." Josh Shapiro's spokesperson Manuel Bonder dismissed the ad to Axios as "cheap, dishonest AI bullshit."
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Texas (Senate): Democratic candidate James Talarico has been repeatedly targeted by AI-generated ads from both Republican Ken Paxton's campaign and outside super PACs. A Paxton campaign ad used AI to portray Talarico defacing a Bible with crayon and saying, "In the beginning God was non-binary, and he wasn't a Christian. And God said, 'let there be six genders,' and there were." Talarico told NBC he "tried in the legislature to ban AI deepfake videos in political campaigns because they are misleading. They are lying about a candidate in this race."
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Kentucky's 6th District (House): No Going Back PAC, backed by President Trump's MAGA Inc., ran multiple ads using AI to support Republican congressional candidate Ralph Alvarado. One ad included several AI-generated deepfakes of Democrat Zach Dembo, including a scene in which he stares directly into the camera. Dembo told Axios, "I expected them to lie about my record, but I did not expect them to lie about my appearance," adding that "using AI to create fake or misleading images is the beginning of a very dangerous path for our democracy."
Why this matters
AI-generated political advertising can erode trust in public debate by making it harder for voters to distinguish factual events and statements from artificial fabrications. While some states have enacted targeted restrictions or disclosure requirements, the regulatory landscape remains fragmented. Without a federal standard, AI-made political content is likely to continue proliferating in future campaigns.
Next questions
Policymakers, platforms and the public face the challenge of crafting rules that reduce the risk of deception without unduly limiting speech or technological development. In the near term enforcement will depend on state laws, platform policies and public scrutiny to identify and counter misleading AI-produced ads.
