An action committee of political satire is making waves with a satirical ad generated entirely by artificial intelligence, taking aim at both North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson and the use of AI itself. The videoreleased by a group calling themselves Americans for Prosparodyis a mixture of disturbing visuals and disturbing animations, with strange hands and snakelike movements, all accompanied by a voice that sounds similar to Robinson’s, but with a dehumanizing touch.
The fictional ad, which ironically calls Robinson “Mark Rottensen,” uses real quotes from the Republican politician, making the parody even more provocative. The website created by the PAC, founded by Democratic investor and donor Todd Stiefel, emphasizes that all of the fake candidate’s statements are authentic quotes.
“When I Talk to Survivors of School Shootings,” says the fake Robinson in the video, “I say ‘Shut up you spoiled little bastards!’”
This sentence, as highlighted on the “Rottensen” site, is taken directly from a Facebook post by the real Mark Robinson in 2018, made following the school massacre in Parkland, Florida.
Political satire
Stiefel, leader of the fake PAC, told local station WCNC that the commercial is a parody of both Mark Robinson’s extremism and AI itself. The video includes extensive warnings in large print at the beginning and end, signaling that it was created by an artificial intelligence.
“These tools are available to everyone, and it’s great to have this new technology,” Stiefel told local Raleigh media. “But it’s a little scary to think about when this technology will be used by malicious actors — if it’s not clear that it’s a parody, it can easily be used to spread misinformation.”
But there is no shortage of controversy
Not everyone looks favorably on this form of satire. Amanda Sturgill, a journalism professor at Elon University, told WRAL that despite the warnings, the AI ads could confuse voters. “The problem is that [l’AI] can really confuse people,” he explained, “especially when using technology that makes it appear as if the candidate himself is speaking.”
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Robinson is already at the center of a real-life post scandal racists and apparently sexist messages written more than a decade ago on pornographic forums. Robinson has denied the veracity of the posts, claiming that they were generated by AI, a defense that seems incredibly far-fetched.
In a statement to WRAL, Robinson spokesman Mike Lonergan called Stiefel’s commercial full of “fake clips” designed for “defame” the Republican candidate. However, as Stiefel himself points out, the intent of the parody was precisely to expose the politician’s extremist statements, using AI to exaggerate his own comments in a satirical way.
This commercial leaves us with a disturbing question: how far can AI go in the political world? Between laughs and scares, it’s clear that this technology is already changing the game of election campaigns. But how thin is the line between parody and misinformation? Only time (and elections) will tell.
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