of Republican primary race heats up Super PAC attack ads between U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie and Ed Galine, representing northern Kentucky, are running artificial intelligence-derived videos that deceptively portray each candidate.
This AI video, known as a “deepfake,” is becoming increasingly common in political ads across the country. Kentucky’s new ads come despite the passing of a state law last year aimed at regulating the use of ads for political candidates.
Massey and Galine’s allies have criticized and accused each other of deepfake ads, which were created by PACs independent of the campaign. Both PACs are trying to portray their opponents as insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump, who supported Mr. Gullane and Mr. Trump. rallied for him in March.
New ad attacking MAGA KY PAC’s Massey show his fake video When checking into a hotel, he held hands with Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, hinting that they would join them in the room. The first words on the screen were “Thomas Massey caught with three heads!”
The ad, which includes fake CCTV footage and tabloid-style photos, says in white text at the bottom: “This satirical ad was created using artificial intelligence.”
Appearing on Monday’s KET debate, which Mr Gullane dismissed, Mr Massey said the ads attacking him were “beyond common sense” and were a sign of desperation.
“It’s always the losing campaigns that do crazy things. I think it could backfire on them because it’s so ridiculous,” Massey said. “Frankly, this is an insult to older voters who don’t know about AI. They’re going to look at this and think I’m actually going on a date with AOC and Ilhan Omar and checking into a hotel together. It’s so ridiculous.”
A month earlier, Galine was also falsely portrayed in an ad for Kentucky 4th PAC supporting Massey. With AI-generated videoIn , a frightened Galine flees a Trump rally, and in another clip, Galine appears to be fleeing a battlefield as Trump fires at an unseen enemy. There is no explicit disclosure that AI was used.
“Trump was in the trenches,” the narrator says, “and Eddie Gullane woke up and turned tail and ran.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Gallein released a statement from the veterans, calling the ad attacking him an “insult to all veterans” and calling on Mr. Massey to apologize and remove it. Mr. Gullane is a retired Navy SEAL and Mr. Massey had no active military service.
“While Mr. Gullane has been moving to the sound of guns for 30 years, Mr. Massey and his Democratic allies have created a recent Disneyland AI cartoon calling the decorated veteran a coward and a traitor,” said Col. Walter Hurd of Simpsonville. “Making fabricated lies like this is despicable and treacherous, and Mr. Massey’s cartoon highlights his own.”
screenshot
/
Kentucky 4th PAC Ad
Both ads in question were paid for and distributed by independent PACs, and the decision to take them off the airwaves cannot be made by the candidates’ campaigns.
Kentucky State Representative passed a bipartisan bill Restrict the use of AI and “synthetic media” to depict candidates’ images and voices in 2025 election materials. Only a few Republicans, primarily those aligned with the party’s liberal wing, voted against the bill at the time. of law It does not include criminal penalties and does not prohibit candidate deepfakes, but it does allow candidates to sue for an injunction if their ads do not contain “clear and conspicuous” disclosures.
“If a campaign determines that an ad violates the law, it can file a civil lawsuit in circuit court,” said Russell Coleman, a spokesman for Kentucky’s Republican attorney general.
About Xformer Georgia state Rep. Margorie Taylor Greene defended Massie, arguing that the ad, which appeared to show a relationship between him and the Democratic congresswoman, violated federal law. take it down act. However, it is unclear whether this ad falls under the definition of “intimate images without consent,” which is prohibited by law.
“Thomas Massie should sue the three Israel First billionaires who funded Woke Eddie’s campaign and everyone involved in creating this fake video and everyone who published it,” Greene posted.
The MAGA KY super PAC that ran the anti-Massey ads is largely funded by several billionaires, including hedge fund manager Paul Singer and casino magnate Miriam Adelson. PAC spent $4.5 million on attack ads against Massey since last summer.
Meanwhile, the anti-Gullane ads were funded by Kentucky 4th PAC. Its funders are still unknown, as no spending or funding was reported by the Federal Election Commission’s March 31 deadline. The group had not filed a statement of organization as of March 16, and has spent nearly $2 million on attack ads against Garlein since early April.
Attack ads using deepfake videos are becoming increasingly common across the country. In Texas, an AI attack ad by Republican Sen. John Cornyn depicted his chief opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Riding in a car with two alleged mistresses.
