Ahead of the Democratic National ConventionIn his video, he posted a fake image of someone resembling Vice President Kamala Harris addressing what appears to be a communist rally in Chicago with an image of a red flag with a communist symbol. That followed his reposting of a fake video of himself dancing alongside billionaire Elon Musk, one of his most vocal supporters.
Just before the convention started, he again posted a picture of Taylor Swift Dressed as Uncle Sam, he accepted her campaign support, which she had never given him.
These are the latest examples of how Trump is promoting images produced by artificial intelligence tools to attack his opponents or create illusions of support around his own campaign. It fits into a long-standing strategy in which Trump amplifies messages — from QAnon followers to those who deny fair election results — to score political points and satisfy his base by promoting alternative realities.
Some of the images and videos Trump has shared are cartoonish or blatantly fake. However, the rise of AI-generated content around the world political social networks It worries experts who say it can be used to spread more insidious and credible disinformation. fake imagesVideos and audio clips created by generative AI models are beginning to saturate social media, but they also risk eroding people’s trust in what they see and hear.
“AI-generated Taylor Swift deepfakes are yet another example of the power of AI to create disinformation that misleads and defrauds voters,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights group that has pushed for legislation regulating AI. “The potential harms to our society that could result from such disinformation, including abuses of our elections, are wide-reaching and immensely damaging.”
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An AI-generated image on Trump’s Truth Social post shared Sunday showed women wearing T-shirts reading “Swifties for Trump,” a reference to the artist’s devoted fans. The fake image showing Swift dressed as Uncle Sam included text that read, “Taylor wants YOU to VOTE for DONALD TRUMP.” In his repost of the image, Trump added, “I do!” One of the images Trump shared included a small satirical hashtag, though he did not clarify whether he meant his post to be a joke.
Swift, who is continuing her world tour and has a concert scheduled for Tuesday night in London, has not endorsed anyone in this year’s U.S. presidential race. Her spokesman did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment.
For Republicans outside Trump’s orbit, the focus on someone like Swift, one of the most talked-about artists in the world, is intended to draw attention to Trump at a time when much of the focus is on Harris and the Democrats.
“This is how he and his campaign can take back the news cycles,” said Doug Heye, a veteran Republican spokesman and operative. “I’m not going to go so far as to say they should be given credit, but I think we all know that if you want to be talked about, Taylor Swift is a great way to do it.”
A Harris spokesperson did not respond to questions about Trump’s use of AI-generated images.
Trump supporters frequently create social media posts and memes using AI generated imagessome of which are shared by the former president.
Before Trump shared the fake images of Swift, his supporters had been creating and posting their own AI-generated videos and images of the pop star that appeared to support Trump. They also shared numerous images of Harris dressed as a communist leader or addressing a Soviet crowd.
Political operatives have long been concerned about what the rise of artificial intelligence could mean for elections.
Some members of Congress have pushed for legislation to regulate the use of AI-generated images in politics, but no such legislation has been passed. The Federal Communications Commission has proposed requiring political advertisers to disclose their use of AI in television and radio ads, but such a rule would not affect social media platforms.
While several social media companies have rules for labeling AI-generated content, they are not always enforced. Across all platforms, misleading and realistic images of Trump and Harris are racking up millions of views, with some users failing to recognize that what they are seeing is fake.
Given her influence and millions of followers, Swift has often become a trending political topic during election years.
In 2020, she endorsed President Joe Biden and, a month before the election, wrote that she would support Harris, the then-vice presidential nominee and this year’s Democratic nominee, in her debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence. She also openly criticized Trump before the 2020 election, saying he had stoked “the fires of white supremacy and racism.”
While she has remained on the sidelines so far this year, she has not escaped the attention of prominent conservatives who worry about an endorsement by Swift for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Earlier this year, Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro warned Swift not to “get involved in politics.” Fox News’ Sean Hannity urged her to “think twice” before endorsing Biden when he was running for reelection. And Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate and outspoken Trump supporter, called Swift and her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce “an artificially culturally propped-up couple” who could make “a major presidential endorsement” this fall.
Some of his supporters have responded to Trump’s posts by taking to social media and declaring their intention to vote for the former president. Trump’s campaign is capitalizing on that support.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung did not address the use of fake images in response to questions, but called Swifties for Trump a “massive movement that grows every day.”
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