AI deepfakes blur reality in 2026 US midterm campaigns
NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - As the video opens, Democratic Texas State Representative James Talarico appears to stand in front of a Texas flag, beaming.
"Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country," the U.S. Senate candidate seems to say into the camera. As a voice whispers "white men," Talarico continues: "So true. So true."
But Talarico never filmed that video. Instead, the clip is an AI-generated ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the party's Senate campaign arm, featuring a computer-altered Talarico reciting social media posts he wrote years ago. The words "AI generated" show up in easy-to-miss font in the lower righthand corner.
The realistic video is among a vanguard of "deepfake" advertisements that some campaigns are already deploying ahead of November's midterm elections, taking advantage of AI tools that are improving at a breakneck pace.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ai-deepfakes-blur-reality-2026-100554748.html