Washington.- With the 2024 election approaching, the first since the mass popularization of generative artificial intelligence, experts feared the worst: social media flooded with AI-generated deepfakes that were so realistic they baffled voters into not knowing what to believe.
So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, what voters are seeing is far more absurd: a video of former President Donald Trump riding a cat while wielding an assault rifle. A mustachioed Vice President Kamala Harris dressed in communist garb. Trump and Harris sharing a passionate hug and kiss. Artificial intelligence is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the biggest fears about how it could threaten the U.S. presidential election have yet to materialize. Fake AI-generated images regularly circulate online, but many of them are so cartoonish and absurd that even the most naive viewer might not take them seriously. Still, even these memes can be problematic. Eye-catching AI-generated photos and videos, some of which are intended to be funny, have become useful tools for spreading false, sometimes racist, messages with a clear political bent — and candidates and their supporters are among those who share them on social media. For example, Trump and many of his allies not only repeatedly promoted the baseless conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, but also spread related AI-generated memes. One shared by Trump’s Truth Social account showed him on a luxury plane, surrounded by white cats and ducks. Another showed a group of kittens holding a sign that read: “DON’T LET THEM EAT US, Vote for Trump!” Francesca Tripodi, an expert on online propaganda, said such AI-created images are new, viral vehicles for conveying longstanding anti-immigrant narratives. “The memes that amplify this claim are anything but humorous. When you have elected officials using these images as a way to perpetuate racism and xenophobia, that’s a big problem,” said Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Republicans defend the images as lighthearted jokes and byproducts of Trump’s personality. “There’s a personality culture around Donald Trump that encourages that kind of over-the-top communication style that turns things into comedic memes,” said Caleb Smith, a Republican strategist. “The intent is to entertain, not deceive. That’s what it should be.”
Not just Trump supporters
Trump and his supporters aren’t the only ones creating AI memes, but they appear to be using AI image generators more than their Democratic counterparts. Some left-leaning users have posted AI-generated images mocking billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X and an outspoken supporter of Trump’s campaign. Democrats also posted AI-generated images of Trump being handcuffed and chased by police when he was in Manhattan court last year.
But Kamala Harris’s campaign hasn’t leaned into amplifying AI-generated content, instead sticking to TikTok trends and other memes that don’t require AI models to create. “Currently, the only authorized use of generative AI in campaigns is for productivity tools, such as data analysis and industry-standard coding assistance,” Harris campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung didn’t respond to specific questions from The Associated Press but said his strategy hadn’t changed since May, when he emailed a statement saying the campaign was “not using” tools provided by any AI company. Using fake, entertaining and often absurd images to score political points is nothing new. But unlike Photoshopped images or political cartoons, AI-generated images pack a stronger punch with their hyperrealism and can draw new attention to a political message. While some of the pet-related images in Springfield were cartoonish and silly, many felt they perpetuated a harmful conspiracy theory about a community that has since received bomb threats that prompted evacuations of schools and government buildings. “Memes that are blatant parody are one thing. It’s another thing if they’re intended to deceive,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and staunch Trump critic. “And we already see the Trump campaign blurring the line.”
AI makes it easy
The speed and accessibility of generative AI tools make it easy to create quirky political content that can generate clicks and likes. AI image generators, accessible to anyone with an internet connection, are a cheap and convenient way for campaigns to respond to online trends and get a message across.
“Campaigns have had to deal with disinformation and misinformation for a long time … It’s not a new problem. But obviously what AI allows is for these things to be done more quickly, maybe more compellingly and in a more targeted environment,” said Teddy Goff, digital director for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Paul Ingrassia, a New York-based political commentator and lawyer, said he created a viral image of Trump emerging from a lion’s mouth in seconds by asking Grok for help, then put it in his newsletter and sent it to Trump campaign staff. Trump’s Truth Social account posted Ingrassia’s newsletter, including the image, that day. “I got a message from my point of contact with the president, and they said, ‘The president loved the image, how did you do it? Who created it?’ And I said, ‘Oh, I did. I did it for the article,’” Ingrassia said. “And he said, ‘Keep up the great work, he loves it.’” The use of AI for political satire and propaganda is not limited to the US and has been seen in elections from Indonesia to the Netherlands. More sinister deepfakes have also sought to influence elections around the world. In Slovakia last year, AI audio clips mimicked the leader of the liberal party talking about rigging the vote days before parliamentary elections. In the New Hampshire primary in January, fake audio clips of President Joe Biden were sent in robocalls to Democratic voters, urging them not to vote. The incident quickly became public and resulted in criminal charges. Trump’s embrace of AI-generated images contradicts some of his previous comments. In an interview on Fox Business this year, Trump called artificial intelligence “very dangerous” and “so scary” because “there is no real solution” to the problems created by advancing technology. And some Republicans have been concerned about how Trump and the GOP are using AI to create political memes. “I don’t engage in memes. “I’ve never done it. I never will,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican in a competitive district outside Philadelphia. “I just don’t believe in it.” (Dan Merica, Garance Burke and Ali Swenson)
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