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Low reported severity

North Carolina attack ad used AI-generated video of congressional candidate Jamie Ager dancing with drag performers, fact check says; performers object

In October 2026 a 30-second television attack ad paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and approved by Republican state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, the candidate in North Carolina's 11th congressional district, showed her Democratic opponent Jamie Ager at a barn dance with drag performers. A News & Observer fact check says the ad features videos generated by artificial intelligence and appears to manipulate real footage from one of Ager's own campaign ads, adding a pride flag to the barn wall and filling the barn with drag queens; the ad carries no AI disclaimer, and North Carolina has no AI-disclosure law for political ads. An Asheville drag performer shown in the ad told WLOS that the scene never happened, that she has never met Ager, that her likeness was used without permission and that she sent a cease-and-desist letter; Ager called the ad 100% fake AI-generated lies. Other performers named in the ad also objected. The NRCC said it stands by the ad.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Oct 2026
Reported
23 October 2026
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
Elections · Public life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 5 sources, 3 underlying accounts
8 claims: 1 corroborated, 7 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 4 people

AI system as recorded: Unnamed AI video tool used to produce the barn-dance scenes in the NRCC attack ad, as described by the News & Observer and WLOS; the tool and its operator are not identified

What Happened

The ad. WLOS reports that the commercial was paid for by the NRCC and approved by Jennifer Balkcom, the Republican candidate in North Carolina's 11th congressional district, and that it depicts a barn dance with drag queens and Jamie Ager dancing. In an earlier report WLOS says Balkcom's campaign confirmed it paid for the ad and produced it in coordination with the campaign. Breitbart, whose 16 October report the ad draws on, describes the 30-second ad as opening with a warning followed by an AI-generated depiction of Ager. The North Carolina Republican Party also shared the ad on social media (Breitbart).

The fact check. The News & Observer says the ad features videos generated by artificial intelligence and appears to manipulate real footage from one of Ager's own campaign ads: where the real video showed a bare wooden wall, the attack ad shows the same wall covered with an LGBTQ pride flag, and where Ager's ad showed plainclothes attendees, the attack ad shows the same barn full of drag queens who dance as children look on. It says the ad has no disclaimer stating that AI was used. WLOS reports that North Carolina has no law requiring AI disclosure in political ads. The ad's makers have not been reported to confirm or deny that AI was used, and the tool is not identified.

The depicted people. An Asheville-area drag performer shown in the ad told WLOS that the scenes were fabricated using artificial intelligence, that she has never met Ager or been to his property, that the campaign did not contact her before featuring her and that her likeness was used without permission. She sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Balkcom campaign and demanded removal, but WLOS reported on 26 October that the ad continued to run. Ager's campaign called it 100% fake, AI-generated ads, and Ager said in a video statement that his opponent was attacking him with 100% fake AI-generated lies. The News & Observer quotes another performer named in the ad writing that her name and AI-generated moving image likeness were used without permission and that she issued a cease-and-desist notice; Breitbart quotes a cease-and-desist letter from a performer the ad named. Blue Ridge Pride, an organisation mentioned in the ad, also demanded its removal (Breitbart).

The response. An NRCC spokesman said the NRCC stands by the ad and accused Ager of hosting events with inappropriate performances for children; the News & Observer found that the farm event the ad called a drag barn dance was not advertised as one, and that the NRCC did not provide proof that the named performers attended. Balkcom's spokesperson had not returned WLOS's request for comment when it reported on 26 October.

What is not known. Which AI tool was used and by whom, the date the ad first aired, how many performers are depicted, and whether any legal action follows.

Reported harm

A congressional candidate and local drag performers were shown at an event that did not happen in an attack ad that a fact check says used AI-generated video; a depicted performer says her likeness was used without permission and sent a cease-and-desist letter, and the candidate objected (WLOS; News & Observer).

Outcome

Ongoing

A drag performer shown in the ad sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Balkcom campaign and demanded that the ad be taken down; WLOS reported on 26 October 2026 that it continued to run on television and on YouTube, and a First Amendment attorney told WLOS a misappropriation claim could follow. The NRCC said it stands by the ad. No lawsuit, removal or ruling was reported when the sources were read on 28 October 2026.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used, and whether the NRCC, the campaign or a vendor produced the scenes.
  • The date the ad first aired (after a 16 October report, before WLOS reported on 23 October).
  • How many performers are depicted in the AI-generated scenes beyond the three who objected.
  • Whether the ad was withdrawn or legal action followed.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The News & Observer compared the attack ad with Ager's own campaign ad and reports that the ad features AI-generated videos that appear to manipulate that real footage, adding a pride flag and replacing the attendees with drag queens; WLOS and Breitbart also describe the ad as AI-generated. The AI-generated scenes depict the candidate and local drag performers at an event they say never happened, and the performers' and candidate's objections are to that depiction. The makers have not confirmed or denied AI use, and the technical basis beyond the newspaper's comparison is not disclosed; the tool is not named.

8 claims: 1 corroborated, 7 reported. What the statuses mean

Corroborated An attack ad in Republican candidate Jennifer Balkcom's race, paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee, depicts her Democratic opponent in North Carolina's 11th congressional district, Jamie Ager, dancing with drag performers in a barn.

Causal attribution. Description of the ad by outlets that viewed it.

  • newsobserver.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'featuring videos generated by artificial intelligence that depict her opponent, Democrat Jamie Ager, dancing with a drag queen in a barn.'; 'The ad, paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee'
  • wlos.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The commercial was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and approved by Republican NC-11 candidate Jennifer Balkcom.'; 'The ad depicts a barn dance with drag queens and NC-11 candidate Jamie Ager dancing'
  • breitbart.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'has begun running an advertisement based on an October 16 Breitbart News report'; 'followed by an AI-generated depiction of Ager declaring'
Reported The News & Observer says the ad features videos generated by artificial intelligence and appears to manipulate real footage from one of Ager's own campaign ads, adding a pride flag to the barn wall and replacing plainclothes attendees with drag queens, and that the ad carries no disclaimer that AI was used.

Causal attribution. The newspaper's own comparison of the attack ad with Ager's campaign ad; the makers have not confirmed the AI use or named a tool.

  • newsobserver.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'appears to manipulate real footage from one of Ager'; 'covered with an LGBTQ pride flag'; 'the same barn full of drag queens who dance as children look on'; 'does not include a disclaimer stating that AI was used to generate any of its content'
Reported An Asheville-area drag performer shown in the ad says the scenes were fabricated using artificial intelligence, that she has never met Ager or been to his property, that the campaign did not contact her and that her likeness was used without her permission.

Causal attribution. The performer's own account in interviews with one station.

  • wlos.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'saying the scenes depicted in the ad were fabricated using artificial intelligence'; 'campaign did not contact her before being featured in the ad'
  • wlos.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'who says her likeness was used without her permission'; 'she has never met the Democratic candidate or been to his property'
Reported The performer sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Balkcom campaign and demanded that the ad be taken down, but it continued to run on television and YouTube.

Causal attribution. The performer's account and the station's report of the ad still running.

  • wlos.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'she has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Balkcom'
  • wlos.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'She is demanding that the ad be removed and taken down, but it continues to run on television and is posted on YouTube.'
Reported Ager and his campaign called the ad fake and AI-generated.

Causal attribution. Statements by the depicted candidate and his campaign; WLOS says the ad was seemingly created by AI.

Reported Another performer named in the ad wrote that her name and AI-generated moving image likeness were used without permission and that she issued a cease-and-desist notice; Breitbart quotes a cease-and-desist letter from a performer named in the ad objecting to any AI-generated video depicting her.

Causal attribution. Performers' own statements as quoted by two outlets; the two outlets quote different performers, identified in the sources by different stage names.

Reported Balkcom's campaign confirmed it paid for the ad, and the NRCC said it stands by the ad; neither is reported to have addressed whether AI was used.

Causal attribution. Statements by the ad's sponsors as reported by WLOS.

Reported North Carolina has no law requiring political ads to disclose AI use.

Causal attribution. A political scientist quoted by WLOS; context for the absence of a disclaimer.

  • wlos.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'North Carolina does not have a law requiring political advertisements to disclose when they are generated using artificial intelligence'

Sources

5 sources inspected, from 3 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. Read through a Wayback Machine capture of the article URL because the direct fetch timed out; the fact check reports the newspaper's own comparison with Ager's campaign ad. Applies to s1.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. WLOS interview with the performer and campaign statements. Applies to s2.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. Follow-up by the same station. Applies to s3.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. Follow-up by the same station with the candidate's video statement. Applies to s4.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. Breitbart reported the event the ad draws on; it quotes a performer's letter and the NRCC statement. Applies to s5.

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

The ad ran in a North Carolina congressional race and depicts a candidate and Asheville-area performers (News & Observer, WLOS). No court is involved.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-28: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): a newspaper fact check that compared the attack ad with the candidate's own footage reports that it used AI-generated video, and a performer shown in the scene says her likeness was used without permission and sent a cease-and-desist letter while the candidate objected. The AI attribution rests on the newspaper's comparison, not on the makers.

People described

Jamie Ager, the Democratic candidate in North Carolina's 11th congressional district, and Asheville-area drag performers who say their likeness was used in the ad without permission

People reported harmed in this case

At least 4 people

0 AI participants · 4 other people harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

Four people counted: the candidate, who called the ad fake and AI-generated (WLOS); the Asheville drag performer interviewed by WLOS, who says her likeness was used without permission and sent a cease-and-desist letter; the performer whose Facebook post the News & Observer quotes saying her AI-generated likeness was used without permission; and the performer whose cease-and-desist notice Breitbart quotes. The three performers appear under different stage names in the sources, and Breitbart reports them as separate people. Other performers named in the ad's narration are not counted because no source reports their likeness in the AI scenes or a consequence for them, so the count is partial. Viewers are an audience and are not counted.

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

Tags

#election#political-advertising#ai-video#likeness-without-consent#north-carolina

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). North Carolina attack ad used AI-generated video of congressional candidate Jamie Ager dancing with drag performers, fact check says; performers object. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-north-carolina-congressional-attack-ad-used-ai-generated-video-of-candidate-dancing-with-drag-performers-performers-object

BibTeX

@misc{2026_north_carolina_congressional_attack_ad_used_ai_generated_video_of_candidate_dancing_with_drag_performers_performers_object,
  title = {North Carolina attack ad used AI-generated video of congressional candidate Jamie Ager dancing with drag performers, fact check says; performers object},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-north-carolina-congressional-attack-ad-used-ai-generated-video-of-candidate-dancing-with-drag-performers-performers-object}
}

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