{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-28T06:39:30.080Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"north-carolina","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-north-carolina-congressional-attack-ad-used-ai-generated-video-of-candidate-dancing-with-drag-performers-performers-object","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'has begun running an advertisement based on an October 16 Breitbart News report'; 'followed by an AI-generated depiction of Ager declaring'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'saying the scenes depicted in the ad were fabricated using artificial intelligence'; 'campaign did not contact her before being featured in the ad'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'who says her likeness was used without her permission'; 'she has never met the Democratic candidate or been to his property'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'she has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Balkcom'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'She is demanding that the ad be removed and taken down, but it continues to run on television and is posted on YouTube.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Our opponent is attacking us with 100% fake AI-generated lies.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'100% fake, AI-generated ads'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'AI-generated moving image likeness was used without my permission'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'cease and desist from using my name, likeness, and any AI-generated video or moving image depicting me without my express permission'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'confirmed that it paid for the ad and produced it in coordination with the campaign'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The NRCC stands by the ad'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'North Carolina does not have a law requiring political advertisements to disclose when they are generated using artificial intelligence'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."}],"effects":[{"label":"drag performer shown in an AI-generated attack-ad scene without permission; she sent a cease-and-desist letter","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"candidate depicted at an event that did not happen; he called the ad fake and AI-generated","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article317751858.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"news-and-observer"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://wlos.com/news/local/story/drag-queen-ai-political-ad-election-congress-nc-11-jennifer-balkcom-jamie-ager-republican-democrat-western-north-carolina-artificial-intelligence-politics","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. WLOS interview with the performer and campaign statements.","independence_group":"wlos"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://wlos.com/news/local/drag-queen-asheville-nova-explores-legal-action-artificial-intelligence-ai-generated-jennifer-balkcom-political-ad-jamie-ager-democrat-gop-republican-sue-attorney","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28; no translation needed. Follow-up by the same station.","independence_group":"wlos"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://wlos.com/news/local/jamie-ager-responds-artificial-intelligence-ai-generated-political-attack-ad-100-fake-bullcrap-advertisement-democrat-gop-republican-jennifer-balkcom-congress-north-carolina","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"wlos"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/10/26/drag-nun-sister-domina-trix-threatens-legal-action-over-ai-ad-linking-performer-to-family-friendly-festival-at-nc-dem-jamie-agers-farm/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"breitbart"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["elections","public_life"],"unknowns":["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."],"geography":{"basis":"The ad ran in a North Carolina congressional race and depicts a candidate and Asheville-area performers (News & Observer, WLOS). No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"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.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"North Carolina attack ad used AI-generated video of congressional candidate Jamie Ager dancing with drag performers, fact check says; performers object","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2026-10-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-23","aiSystem":"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","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":4,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"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.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-NC","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article317751858.html","primarySourceLabel":"News & Observer, 24 October 2026: Fact check of GOP candidate's AI-generated ad of opponent dancing with drag queens","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-28T03:11:56.155162+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-28T03:11:56.155162+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["election","political-advertising","ai-video","likeness-without-consent","north-carolina"]}]}