DeSantis Accused in AI-Faked Photos Trump Smear Campaign
On June 5, DeSantis’ campaign tweeted a video purporting to show Trump’s close support of Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to Trump when he was president of the United States.
Fauci is a contentious figure in GOP circles for, among other reasons, his handling of the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which many deemed to be heavy-handed.
The video features a collage of real images depicting Trump and Fauci mixed in with what appears to be AI-generated images of the pair hugging, with some depicting Trump appearing to kiss Fauci.
Twitter’s Community Notes feature — the platform’s community-driven misinformation-dispelling project — added a disclaimer to the tweet, saying it contained “AI-generated images.”
AFP Fact Check, a department within the news agency Agence France-Presse, said the images had “the hallmarks of AI-generated imagery.”
DeSantis vs. Trump for Republican Nominee
DeSantis and Trump are facing off to become the Republican nominee for president. DeSantis kicked off his bid last month in a Twitter Space and promised to “protect” Bitcoin. Current polling has him trailing Trump.
AI in Politics
Others in politics have used AI-generated media to attack rivals, and Trump’s campaign is even guilty of using AI to smear DeSantis.
Shortly after DeSantis announced his presidential bid, Trump posted a video mocking DeSantis’ Twitter-based announcement, using deepfaked audio to create a fake Twitter Space featuring the likeness of DeSantis, Elon Musk, George Soros, Adolf Hitler, Satan, and Trump.
In April, the Republican party released an ad with its predictions on what a second term for President Joe Biden would look like, which was packed with AI-generated images that depicted a dystopian future.
New Zealand politics has also recently featured AI-made media, with the country’s opposing National Party using generated images to attack the ruling Labour Party in multiple social posts in May.
Examples of AI-Generated Images
- One image depicts Polynesian hospital staff.
- Another shows multiple masked men robbing a jewelry store.
- A third image depicts a woman in a house at night.
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