GOP attack ad spoofs Chuck Schumer using AI: NPR

A new attack ad from Senate Republicans uses Sen. Chuck Schumer’s real words about a government shutdown — but in an artificial intelligence deepfake of the Democratic Senate minority leader.

The 30 seconds video Its posting on X and YouTube by the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Friday raised concerns among many observers who warned that a new frontier in politics had been crossed and could unleash a torrent of deeply offensive ads generated by artificial intelligence.

The video shown in

“Every day gets better for us” was part of a quote Schumer provided to the policy website Punchbull News In an October 9 article about the closure. He continued: “This is because we thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care was going to be the focal point on September 30 and we prepared for it… Their whole theory was – they threaten us, they trick us, we will give up in a day or two.”

However, the original story only included the text of Schumer’s statement, not the video or audio.

NRSC press release The ad describes it as a “concept” of Schumer’s comment and says it was “created in part using AI software and includes an AI disclaimer.”

The fake footage of Schumer includes a small transparent watermark of the NRSC logo and the words “AI GENERATED” in the lower right corner. YouTube has placed its own “edited or synthetic content” label on the page video Saying “audio or visuals were significantly edited or created digitally.”

Schumer’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Although the quote was something Schumer actually said, using artificial intelligence to invent fake video footage crosses the line, said Hani Farid, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who studies manipulated media.

“If they wanted to use the quote, they could have displayed a photo of Schumer and covered up the quote, as is often done. Creating a fake photo of Senator Schumer cannot reasonably be said to be the same thing,” he said.

Additionally, Freed said the disclaimer in the bottom right corner of the video “is not a particularly clear or obvious disclosure, especially when most users are doomed to scroll through their social media posts.”

The NRSC video has also been criticized by journalists and other commentators on social media, including reporters at right-leaning publications.

“Schumer’s segment is an AI-generated video — which is revealed in the bottom right corner — but we are on the threshold of a terrifying new world,” John Levin, a political correspondent for the Washington Free Beacon, said. Written on X.

“The NRSC has increasingly turned to AI in its ads, but this is the first time I’ve seen them go so far as to use it in a fake adversary video. That’s a slippery slope, even with a little AI revelation around the corner,” said Ramsay Touchberry, congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner. Published on X.

Amid the criticism, NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez said books On her X account: “AI is here and it’s not going anywhere. Adapt and win or Pearly Clutch and lose.”

This is not the first time Republicans have used artificial intelligence to impersonate Schumer and other Democrats. On the eve of the shutdown, President Trump Published on Social Truth A profanity-laced, AI-generated video appears to make up Schumer saying “nobody likes Democrats anymore.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also seen in the video wearing a cartoon sombrero and mustache.

But unlike Schumer’s video broadcast by NRSC, previous examples were easy to spot as inauthentic.

Farid warned that the increasing prevalence of fake AI in politics could have a devastating impact.

“While I don’t think our leaders should be posting deceptive in-depth content, they also run the risk that when they post true content, there will be good reason for the public to question its authenticity,” he said.