| A Trump-aligned super PAC was forced to take down an ad for Carlos De La Cruz that used AI, a “deceitful” practice that proves Republicans are resorting to lies in a desperate attempt to claw back voters.
According to The Washington Sun, the ad “failed to disclose the use of artificial intelligence,” attempting to trick Texas voters with a false depiction of De La Cruz’s opponent. The dishonesty was so extreme, Google took down the ad “for a policy violation.”
DCCC Spokesperson Madison Andrus:
“Carlos De La Cruz and Republicans are using every dirty trick in the book to try to cover up for their own failures, but Texas voters can see straight through their lies and they’re going to send Johnny Garcia to Congress this November.”
The Washington Sun: Google Pulled Down a Trump-Linked Ad That Used AI
- Google this week removed a digital campaign ad from a super PAC aligned with Donald Trump because it failed to disclose the use of artificial intelligence, a violation of the platform’s rules, The Washington Sun has learned.
- The ad, launched last week by No Going Back PAC, includes an AI-generated video of Johnny Garcia, the Democratic nominee in Texas’ 35th Congressional District, shaking his head in apparent frustration. The AI-generated clip was a few seconds long and embedded in a larger attack ad against Garcia.
- Google’s political ad policy does not bar political advertisers from using AI to make it appear as if a person is doing or saying something they did not, but it does require advertisers to check a box to mark the content as AI generated.
- Officials with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reported the ad last Thursday. By Tuesday, it was no longer running online. Google, which owns YouTube, notified the DCCC that the ad had been removed from its platform “for a policy violation,” according to a screenshot the committee provided to The Sun.
- “Carlos De La Cruz and his extremist Republican backers clearly have no issue lying to Texas voters,” DCCC spokesperson Madison Andrus said in a statement, referring to the Republican nominee in the race.
- The removal of the ad highlights the changing rules of political advertisements in the AI era, where rules over how to use video produced by the technology can differ from platform to platform. It also underscores how Republicans have thus far been more willing to use AI-produced ads than Democrats, pushing creative boundaries but risking voter backlash among those who consider the practice deceitful.
- Representatives from No Going Back did not respond to a request for comment.
- The race between Garcia and De La Cruz is rated as “likely Republican” by The Cook Political Report. But Democrats have said in recent weeks that they think the race is competitive despite the district’s Republican tilt, a sign of a strong environment for the party’s candidates that’s helping them compete in even deep-red areas.
|
