A parody video based on an ad made for the Kamala Harris campaign has garnered millions of views after Elon Musk shared it on X. It sparked controversy as Musk failed to mention that the video was a parody or that it was created with the help of artificial intelligence.
The video, created by the account “Mister Reagan,” is nearly two minutes long and features an AI audio track that realistically recreates the vice president's voice.
The voice in the video sounds like Harris's, but it includes many things she would not say, including negative comments about President Joe Biden, her candidacy and her policy positions. However, the video does include several clips of Harris actually saying things on camera, mixing real and fictional content.
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The “Mr. Reagan” account is run by Chris Coles, who creates conservative online videos and content. Coles confirmed to Scripps News that he used AI to create the voice in the video, but declined to disclose which software program he used. He also told Scripps that the parody ad took about 12 hours to create. Coles maintained that the video was intended as humor and that no ill intent was intended.
“Those who criticize this video as deceptive are desperately looking for ways to attack Elon Musk,” he said. “This is just a fun video. The left needs to calm down.”
Coles initially characterized the video as a parody, but like a lot of content on the internet, the viral nature of the post got the better of it and the context got lost.
The video went viral after being shared by Elon Musk. Musk did not directly retweet or repost the video with the original text identifying it as a parody. Instead, he simply shared it without any context, saying “this is awesome” and adding a laughing emoji. The version of the video embedded in Musk's tweet on Friday does not include a label indicating that the video is AI-generated, but it has been viewed more than 130 million times.
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By sharing the video, Musk appears to have violated the company's policy on altered and synthetic media, which states that distribution of synthetic videos that may deceive, confuse or harm the public is prohibited. Media that is “materially deceptively altered, falsified or fabricated” is considered a violation of the policy. Additionally, no community notes have been added to the post at this time. Scripps News reached out to X for comment but received an auto-generated response: “We're busy right now, check back soon.”
A Harris campaign spokesperson told Scripps News in a statement: “We believe what the American people want is the real freedom, opportunity and security that Vice President Harris is providing, not the false, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”
Such fake or AI-generated audio and video is something lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are concerned about, with many fearing they could be used to manipulate the results of November's election. In March, Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill that would ban deceptive deepfakes of federal candidates and require disclaimers on AI-generated political ads.
“If Elon Musk & X let this go and don't classify it as altered AI content, they will not only be violating X's own rules, but they will be unleashing unlimited, fake AI voice and image altered content all election season, regardless of party affiliation,” she tweeted Sunday.
