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Low reported severity Media Coverage

Wisconsin: lawyers for congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke sent Rep. Derrick Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter on 30 September 2026 over AI-generated videos posted on his X account that show her making statements she never made; Wisconsin Public Radio reports the videos carry an automatic label indicating Grok Imagine

Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic challenger in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, says Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden has repeatedly posted AI-generated videos to his X account that put words in her mouth. A cease-and-desist letter sent on her campaign's behalf on 30 September 2026 by Elias Law Group cites a video posted on 4 August 2026 that purports to show her speaking on the campaign trail in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her and saying she seeks 'to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare'. The letter calls the video 'pure fiction', says she never made the statements, alleges the videos are posted to harm her reputation, and warns that her lawyers will evaluate all legal options. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the videos posted to X carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine, and quotes two other AI-generated lines attributed to her. Van Orden's campaign accused Cooke of lying to voters about her record, and he answered the letter with another AI video of a duck saying 'Cease and desist!'.

AI system
Grok Imagine (reported)
Occurred
4 Aug 2026
Reported
30 September 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 alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts
5 claims: 2 documented, 3 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: AI-generated videos depicting the candidate, posted on Rep. Van Orden's X account; Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the videos carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine, an AI image and video generator

What Happened

Rebecca Cooke is challenging Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a Republican, in the November 2026 election for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District; she lost to him in 2024 by about 3 percentage points. Wisconsin Public Radio (Sarah Lehr, 1 October 2026) reports that Van Orden has repeatedly used artificial intelligence to post videos to his X account showing Cooke saying things she never said, and that the videos come with an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine. WPR quotes two such videos: in one, an AI-generated version of Cooke says 'Let the peasants eat cake. They will vote for me anyway', and in another her avatar says 'There is a 100 percent chance I just voted for two Communists'.

The cease-and-desist letter, dated 30 September 2026 and signed by Ben Stafford of Elias Law Group on behalf of Cooke for Congress, puts Van Orden on notice of a 'pattern of posting misleading AI-generated videos that falsely attribute statements to Ms. Cooke'. It cites a video posted to his X account on 4 August 2026 that purports to show her speaking on the campaign trail in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her, and attributes to her the statement that she seeks 'to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare'. The letter says the events depicted did not occur, that she never made the statements, and that the videos are posted for the purpose of harming her reputation for political advantage. It argues that Wisconsin's deepfake statute applies only to communications by Wisconsin committees and not to federal candidates, invokes the state's common law of defamation, says her lawyers are monitoring his X account, and warns that they will evaluate all legal options if the conduct persists.

In a statement carried by WPR and WEAU, Cooke said Van Orden is 'spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth'. Van Orden's campaign, in its own release, accused Cooke of throwing a tantrum and of lying to voters about who she is and her record. WPR reports that he responded on social media with another Grok-assisted video in which a red AI-generated duck exclaims 'Cease and desist!'.

Reported harm

A congressional candidate was depicted in AI-generated videos posted by her opponent on X saying things she says she never said; her lawyers' cease-and-desist letter alleges the videos are false and posted to harm her reputation, and the opponent's campaign accuses her of lying about her record.

Outcome

Ongoing

Cooke for Congress, through Elias Law Group, sent Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter dated 30 September 2026 alleging defamation and warning that her lawyers will evaluate all legal options if the posts continue. The letter argues that Wisconsin's deepfake statute applies only to communications by Wisconsin committees and so does not apply to federal candidates. No lawsuit or complaint is reported. Van Orden responded with another AI video.

What remains unknown

  • How many such videos were posted and when the first was posted; 4 August 2026 is the earliest specific post in the inspected sources.
  • Whether every video was made with Grok Imagine, as the platform label reported for the posts indicates, or with other tools.
  • Van Orden's statement to WEAU, which was not in the retrieved page.
  • Whether the campaign will pursue a defamation claim or other legal action.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The cease-and-desist letter calls the posts AI-generated deepfake videos, and Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the videos posted to X carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine. The response from Van Orden's campaign quoted by WPR does not address whether the videos are AI-generated (his statement to WEAU was not in the retrieved page), and WPR describes his answer to the letter as another Grok-assisted video.

5 claims: 2 documented, 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Documented A cease-and-desist letter sent on behalf of Cooke for Congress on 30 September 2026 says Van Orden posted to his X account on 4 August 2026 a video purporting to show Cooke speaking on the campaign trail in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her and attributing to her the statement that she seeks to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare; the letter says the events did not occur and she never made the statements.

Causal attribution. The letter documents the campaign's description and allegation; it is a party's document, and the post itself was not inspected.

  • drive.google.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Take, for example, the video posted to your X account on August 4, 2026.'; 'in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her.'; 'to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare.'; 'The video is pure fiction. The events depicted did not occur. Ms. Cooke never made the statements attributed to her.'
  • weau.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The letter specifically cites an AI video that Derrick Van Orden posted to his X account on Aug. 4, 2026.'
Reported Van Orden has repeatedly posted AI-generated videos to his X account showing Cooke saying things she never said, including an AI-generated version of her saying 'Let the peasants eat cake. They will vote for me anyway', and the videos carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine.

Causal attribution. Wisconsin Public Radio's own description of the posts and their platform label, with the campaign letter alleging a pattern; whether the statements are false is the candidate's account.

  • wpr.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'has repeatedly used artificial intelligence to post videos to his X account, showing Cooke saying things she never said.'; 'The videos posted to that platform come with an automatic label, indicating that they were made with "Grok Imagine," an AI image and video generator.'; 'Let the peasants eat cake. They will vote for me anyway.'
  • drive.google.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'your pattern of posting misleading AI-generated videos that falsely attribute statements to Ms. Cooke that she did not make'; 'posting myriad such videos.'
Documented The letter alleges the videos are posted for the purpose of harming her reputation for political advantage, says Wisconsin's deepfake statute applies only to communications by Wisconsin committees and not to federal candidates, invokes the common law of defamation, and warns that her lawyers will evaluate all legal options if the conduct persists.

Causal attribution. The letter establishes what the campaign alleges and threatens; the defamation allegation is untested.

  • drive.google.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'for the patently obvious purpose of harming Ms. Cooke’s reputation for your own political advantage'; 'deepfake statute only applies to communications by Wisconsin committees, and thus does not apply to federal candidates.'; 'Wisconsin’s common law of defamation fills the gaps yet remaining in Wisconsin’s statutory protections against fake AI'; 'we will evaluate all legal options to address that misconduct.'
Reported Cooke said in a statement that Van Orden is spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in her mouth.

Causal attribution. The candidate's own statement, issued through her campaign.

  • wpr.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'is instead spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth'
  • weau.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'is instead spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth, pretending that I said things that I didn'
Reported Van Orden's campaign said Cooke has spent six years running for office lying to voters about who she is and her record, and Van Orden responded to the letter with another Grok-assisted video in which an AI-generated duck says 'Cease and desist!'.

Causal attribution. Van Orden's campaign release and posts as reported by WPR; his reported responses do not address whether the attributed statements are fabricated.

  • wpr.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Rebecca Cooke has spent six years running for office, lying to voters about who she is and her record'; 'Van Orden responded to the cease-and-desist letter with another Grok-assisted video.'; 'The short clip includes a red AI-generated duck.'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live on 2026-10-02 (Wisconsin Public Radio, Sarah Lehr, published 1 October 2026). Republished by Urban Milwaukee (also read). The description of the X posts and their Grok Imagine label is the reporter's own; the account of the letter derives from the letter. Applies to s1.

Two-page letter dated 30 September 2026 from Ben Stafford, Elias Law Group, on behalf of Cooke for Congress, linked from the WEAU and Urban Milwaukee articles; downloaded from Google Drive on 2026-10-02 and converted with pdftotext. A party's own document: it establishes what the campaign alleges, not that the allegations are true. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-10-02 (WEAU Staff, 30 September 2026). Based on the campaign's press release and the letter; Van Orden's statement to WEAU is announced but its text is not in the retrieved page. Applies to s3.

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

The videos concern the race for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, and the 4 August video purports to show the candidate in Eau Claire, Wisconsin (letter, WPR, WEAU). No court is involved.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-02: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated) consistent with 2026-texas-goodwin-ai-deepfake-campaign-ads-sheriff-complaint: a candidate's lawyers' letter, read in full, documents the campaign's allegation that her opponent posted AI-generated videos showing her saying things she never said, and Wisconsin Public Radio describes the posts and their Grok Imagine label. The harm is reputational and electoral and is alleged by the candidate; the opponent's campaign disputes her account of her record.

People described

Rebecca Cooke, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, depicted in AI-generated videos posted by her opponent

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One depicted person, the candidate on whose behalf the letter was sent. Exact 1. Voters said to be misled are not counted.

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

Tags

#deepfake#political-deepfake#election#wisconsin#grok-imagine#x#cease-and-desist

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Wisconsin: lawyers for congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke sent Rep. Derrick Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter on 30 September 2026 over AI-generated videos posted on his X account that show her making statements she never made; Wisconsin Public Radio reports the videos carry an automatic label indicating Grok Imagine. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-wisconsin-cooke-van-orden-ai-deepfake-videos-cease-and-desist

BibTeX

@misc{2026_wisconsin_cooke_van_orden_ai_deepfake_videos_cease_and_desist,
  title = {Wisconsin: lawyers for congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke sent Rep. Derrick Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter on 30 September 2026 over AI-generated videos posted on his X account that show her making statements she never made; Wisconsin Public Radio reports the videos carry an automatic label indicating Grok Imagine},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-wisconsin-cooke-van-orden-ai-deepfake-videos-cease-and-desist}
}

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