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NOPE
Low reported severity Media Coverage

TV host Chris Cuomo shared a watermarked AI deepfake video of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez as genuine and criticised her; she publicly called it out

On Wednesday 6 August 2025 the NewsNation host Chris Cuomo shared on social media a video that showed a fake Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing on the floor of Congress that a Sydney Sweeney jeans advert was racist, and added his own criticism of her party. The Guardian reports that the clip was prominently watermarked as a deepfake made using AI technology, and The Independent reports a watermark reading parody 100% made with AI. Ocasio-Cortez replied that it was a deepfake and told him to use his critical thinking skills. Cuomo deleted the post and acknowledged it was a deepfake, but continued to criticise her, including on air. The Independent reports that other commentators also took the video as real and attacked her. The maker of the video and the tool used are not identified.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
6 Aug 2025
Reported
7 August 2025
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Public life · Media
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources
5 claims: 5 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Unnamed AI video tool used by an unidentified creator to make a parody video of a likeness of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking in Congress, watermarked as made with AI (as described by The Guardian and The Independent)

What Happened

The video. The Guardian reports that Cuomo shared "a video that was prominently watermarked as a “deepfake” video, made using AI technology" which "depicted a fake Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing on the floor of Congress that a recent Sydney Sweeney ad" was racist. The Independent describes the watermark as stating that the clip was "parody 100% made with AI" and notes that Congress was not in session.

The repost. Both outlets say Cuomo posted the video on Wednesday (The Guardian says on Instagram; The Independent says an Instagram video on his X account). Both articles were published on Thursday 7 August 2025, which places the repost on 6 August 2025. With it he wrote: "Nothing about hamas or people burning jews cars. But sweeney jeans ad?"

The depicted congresswoman's response. Ocasio-Cortez replied: "This is a deepfake dude. Please use your critical thinking skills." (quoted by both outlets).

Afterwards. The Guardian reports that Cuomo "then deleted the post, but in response to Ocasio-Cortez on social media he doubled down on his criticism of her", writing that "that was a deepfake (but it really does sound like you)". The Independent says he later addressed the controversy on his show, "admitting his mistake while also doubling down on his attack on the congresswoman". The Independent also reports that some commentators responding to the original video assumed it was real and attacked Ocasio-Cortez. The Guardian says Cuomo's blunder and follow-up were roundly mocked online.

Limits. The video itself and the social-media posts were not inspected; the descriptions and quotations come from the two outlets. Neither names the video's creator, the original platform or the AI tool.

Reported harm

A congresswoman was shown giving an offensive speech she never gave in an AI-made parody video, which a television host shared as genuine with criticism of her and which other commentators also took as real; she publicly objected (reported).

Outcome

Resolved

Cuomo deleted the post after Ocasio-Cortez's reply and acknowledged that the video was a deepfake, while continuing to criticise her online and on his NewsNation programme (The Guardian; The Independent). No further action by Ocasio-Cortez, the platforms or the video's maker is reported in the sources read on 27 October 2026.

What remains unknown

  • Who made the video, with which AI tool, and where it was first posted.
  • Whether the original video was removed or relabelled.
  • How many people saw the video or the host's repost.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Both outlets describe the video as carrying its maker's watermark stating that it was made with AI (The Guardian: a deepfake made using AI technology; The Independent: parody 100% made with AI), and the congresswoman and the host both called it a deepfake. The AI-made likeness of her speaking in Congress is what the host shared as genuine and criticised her over, and what she objected to. The generating tool and the maker are not named.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A video watermarked as made with AI depicted a fake Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing on the floor of Congress that a Sydney Sweeney jeans advert was racist; The Guardian describes the watermark as labelling it a deepfake made using AI technology, and The Independent quotes it as parody 100% made with AI.

Causal attribution. Each outlet's description of the video and its watermark; the watermark is the maker's own label. The video itself was not inspected and its maker and tool are unidentified.

  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'took to Instagram to share a video that was prominently watermarked as a “deepfake” video, made using AI technology'; 'It depicted a fake Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing on the floor of Congress that a recent Sydney Sweeney ad'
  • independent.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'having apparently not noticed its watermark admitting that the clip was “parody 100% made with AI”'; 'falling for a deepfake video purporting to show New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discussing the Sydney Sweeney jeans furore on the House floor'
Reported Chris Cuomo shared the video on social media on Wednesday 6 August 2025 as if it were genuine, adding criticism of her party.

Causal attribution. Weekday from both outlets; the date follows from their 7 August 2025 publication. The outlets differ on the platform (Instagram, or an Instagram video posted on X).

Reported Ocasio-Cortez replied publicly that the video was a deepfake and told Cuomo to use his critical thinking skills.

Causal attribution. The depicted congresswoman's own post, quoted by both outlets (one origin).

Reported Cuomo deleted the post and acknowledged the video was a deepfake, but continued to criticise Ocasio-Cortez on social media and on his programme.

Causal attribution. Cuomo's own posts and broadcast as quoted by the outlets.

  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Cuomo then deleted the post, but in response to Ocasio-Cortez on social media he doubled down on his criticism of her'; 'that was a deepfake (but it really does sound like you)'; 'She ignored the part of the tweet that mattered.'
  • independent.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The journalist took down the post in question and responded'; 'The anchor later addressed the controversy on his show, admitting his mistake while also doubling down on his attack on the congresswoman'
Reported Some commentators responding to the original video also assumed it was real and attacked Ocasio-Cortez, and Cuomo's handling was widely mocked online.

Causal attribution. The Independent's report of other responses to the video; The Guardian's report of reactions to Cuomo. No count is given.

Sources

2 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-27; no translation needed (research agent, an AI). Applies to s1, s2.

Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: United States. Court countries: Unknown.

The depicted person is a U.S. member of Congress (The Independent: "New York Democratic Rep."), and the adverse event was the repost and criticism by a U.S. television host, continued on his NewsNation show (The Guardian: "The US television host Chris Cuomo"; The Independent: "addressed the controversy on his show"). The Congress setting shown in the video is fabricated and is not used as a location. The maker's location is unknown. No court is involved.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-27: Published because two outlets describe the video as watermarked by its maker as made with AI, a television host shared it as genuine with criticism of the depicted congresswoman, and she publicly objected. Details of the posts are attributed to the outlets' reports.

People described

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a public figure depicted giving a speech she never gave, which a television host shared as genuine with criticism of her

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person: the congresswoman depicted in the video, who publicly objected after a television host shared it as genuine and criticised her (The Guardian; The Independent). Exact 1. The host who was deceived, the commentators who believed the video and its viewers are not counted as harmed.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#political-deepfake#ai-video#parody-label#united-states

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). TV host Chris Cuomo shared a watermarked AI deepfake video of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez as genuine and criticised her; she publicly called it out. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-us-tv-host-shared-watermarked-ai-deepfake-video-of-rep-ocasio-cortez-as-real-and-criticised-her

BibTeX

@misc{2025_us_tv_host_shared_watermarked_ai_deepfake_video_of_rep_ocasio_cortez_as_real_and_criticised_her,
  title = {TV host Chris Cuomo shared a watermarked AI deepfake video of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez as genuine and criticised her; she publicly called it out},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-us-tv-host-shared-watermarked-ai-deepfake-video-of-rep-ocasio-cortez-as-real-and-criticised-her}
}

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