White House published video featuring Ukrainian actress in political ad
The White House published an Instagram video advertising a Trump tax proposal that reportedly featured or mimicked Ukrainian actress Antonina Khyzhniak, sparking speculation about AI-generated deepfake content and raising concerns about the unauthorized use of public figures' likenesses in political communications.
What happened
The White House published a video on Instagram on June 26, 2025 advertising a Trump administration tax proposal on overtime pay that featured Ukrainian actress Antonina Khyzhniak from the series 'Catch Kaydashe'.
The Institute of Mass Information speculated that the video was AI-generated, noting that the model could have been trained on photos and videos of Khyzhniak available online, and that the woman in the video had a mole in the same location as the actress.
Reported impact
The incident raised concerns about the use of individuals' likenesses in political and government communications without consent.
Index analysis
Experts highlighted that the case demonstrates how any real person with a digital presence could be reproduced in fabricated contexts and their image used in advertising or political communications without permission.
The lack of transparency regarding generative AI content was identified as an issue requiring attention from AI and deepfake experts.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.