AI-Generated Deepfake Ads Target Kentucky GOP Candidates in Primary
A Trump-aligned campaign group used AI-generated deepfake video in attack ads to falsely depict Rep. Thomas Massie in a romantic relationship with Democratic lawmakers during a Kentucky primary election. The ads were widely criticized as violations of the Take It Down Act, which prohibits publication of digital forgeries intended to cause reputational harm.
What happened
A campaign advertisement created by a Trump-aligned group used AI-generated video to depict Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in a romantic liaison with Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The ad, titled 'Thomas Massie, caught in a throuple in Washington,' accused Massie of betraying President Trump and Kentucky conservatives on key Congressional votes.
Massie called the ad 'disgusting and defamatory' on social media, stating it was 'an AI generated lie.' Omar called the ad despicable and demanded it be taken down immediately. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stated the ad violated the Take It Down Act, Congress's law against nonconsensual intimate visual depictions and digital forgeries.
Reported impact
The deepfake ad targeted Massie during a Republican primary election against Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, as part of an onslaught of spending by Trump-aligned groups intended to damage Massie's campaign.
Index analysis
The ad violated the Take It Down Act by publishing a digital forgery of an identifiable person in an effort to cause reputational harm, according to commentary from former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Governance controls
Congress passed the Take It Down Act the previous year to criminalize publication of intimate visual depictions or digital forgeries of identifiable people intended to cause reputational harm.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.