{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-14T10:42:07.182Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"political-deepfake","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":6,"coverage":{"cases":6,"countries":3,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":6,"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-indian-army-says-ai-deepfake-video-falsely-showed-lieutenant-general-saying-china-had-taken-parts-of-arunachal-pradesh","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"The viral video is being shared on social media with the claim that Lt Gen Girish Kalia, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Spear Corps, admitted that China had taken control of Asaphila, Longju and Taksing Circle in Arunachal Pradesh.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल एक फर्जी वीडियो में लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल गिरीश कालिया को यह कहते हुए दिखाया गया कि चीन ने अरुणाचल प्रदेश के कुछ इलाकों पर कब्जा कर लिया है","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A video circulating on social media in October 2026 showed Lt Gen Girish Kalia apparently saying that China had taken control of areas of Arunachal Pradesh.","causal_attribution":"The circulation of the video is observed independently by BOOM and by India TV."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"सेना के मुताबिक, इस फर्जी वीडियो को लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल गिरीश कालिया के पुराने वीडियो को AI की मदद से एडिट करके तैयार किया गया। ... सेना ने लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल गिरीश कालिया का असली वीडियो पोस्ट कर स्पष्ट किया कि सोशल मीडिया पर प्रसारित हो रहा वीडियो फर्जी और AI से तैयार किया गया डीपफेक है।","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to India TV, the Army said the video was a fake made by editing an old video of the officer with the help of AI, and posted the original video to say the circulating one was an AI-made deepfake.","causal_attribution":"The Army statement as relayed by India TV; the Army's own post was not read."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We found that the original video dates back to October 27, 2023. A reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video led us to a post shared by news agency ANI on X on October 27, 2023.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"BOOM traced the footage to an ANI clip of 27 October 2023 in which the officer, then commanding the 28 Infantry Division, briefed the media in Kupwara about infiltration attempts along the Line of Control.","causal_attribution":"BOOM's own finding."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We also analysed the audio from the video using the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector. The tool returned an authenticity score of 18 out of 100, indicating that the sampled audio was likely a deepfake.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"BOOM reports that the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector gave the viral audio an authenticity score of 18 out of 100, indicating that it was likely a deepfake.","causal_attribution":"BOOM's analysis with a detection tool; a detector score is probabilistic."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"यह वीडियो सोशल मीडिया पर तेजी से वायरल हुआ। कांग्रेस के कुछ नेताओं ने भी इसे रीपोस्ट किया और सरकार से जवाब मांगा। वीडियो के व्यापक प्रसार के बाद सेना को स्पष्टीकरण देना पड़ा।","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"India TV reports that the video spread quickly on social media, that some Congress politicians reposted it and asked the government for an answer, and that the Army had to issue a clarification.","causal_attribution":"India TV's account; the politicians are not named in the report."}],"effects":[{"label":"an army officer was depicted in an AI-altered video making false statements, and the Army had to deny it","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.boomlive.in/fact-check/deepfake-of-girish-kalia-shows-him-admitting-chinese-incursion-in-arunachal-32399","kind":"fact_check","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English-language source; no translation. Read in full on 2026-10-27 (HTTP 200). BOOM's own reverse-image search and voice-detector analysis.","independence_group":"boom-fact-check-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.indiatv.in/india/national/lieutenant-general-girish-kalia-ai-deepfake-video-fake-claim-chinese-occupation-in-arunachal-pradesh-2026-10-26-1251107","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"hi","translation_note":"Hindi-language source; translated by the research agent (an AI), not by a human translator. Read in full on 2026-10-27 (HTTP 200). India TV's report of the Army's statement.","independence_group":"india-tv-army-statement-oct-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["public_services"],"unknowns":["Who made the video and which AI tool was used.","The text of the Army's own statement, which was read only as India TV reports it.","How widely the video was viewed and shared.","Whether any complaint, investigation or platform action followed."],"geography":{"basis":"The video depicts an Indian Army corps commander and concerns Arunachal Pradesh; it circulated in India, was reposted by Indian politicians and was denied by the Indian Army (BOOM, India TV). The officer serves in the Indian Army. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a reported depiction case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Indian Army, as reported by India TV, said a viral video of Lt Gen Girish Kalia was made by editing old footage with AI, and BOOM traced the 2023 source footage and reports a deepfake voice detector rated the audio as likely a deepfake. The officer's institution publicly denied the video; who made it is unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-27"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Two parties that examined the material attribute it to AI. The Indian Army, as reported by India TV, said the video was made by editing an old video of the officer with the help of AI and posted the original footage. BOOM traced the visuals to an October 2023 ANI clip of a different briefing and reports that the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector scored the viral audio 18 out of 100, indicating likely deepfake audio. The AI-altered video depicted the officer saying things he did not say (depicted_or_impersonated). The Army's technical basis is not disclosed, and the tool used to make the video is unknown.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"India: Army says viral AI deepfake video falsely showed a lieutenant general saying China had taken parts of Arunachal Pradesh","summary":"In late October 2026 a video circulated on social media in which Lt Gen Girish Kalia, who commands the Indian Army's Spear Corps, appeared to say that China had taken control of areas of Arunachal Pradesh and that Indian forces lacked supplies. India TV reports that the Army called the video fake, said it had been made by editing an old video of the officer with the help of AI, and posted the original footage; India TV also reports that some opposition politicians had reposted the video and asked the government to respond. The fact-checker BOOM traced the footage to the officer's October 2023 media briefing in Kupwara about infiltration across the Line of Control, and reports that a deepfake voice detector rated the viral audio as likely a deepfake. Who made the video is not reported.","incidentDate":"2026-10-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-26","aiSystem":"Unidentified AI tool used to alter October 2023 footage of the officer so that he appeared to make new statements, according to the Indian Army as reported by India TV; BOOM reports that the Hiya deepfake voice detector rated the viral audio as likely a deepfake","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Indian Army as reported by India TV and to BOOM's analysis, a video altered with AI from 2023 footage showed Lt Gen Girish Kalia making false statements that China had taken parts of Arunachal Pradesh; it spread widely, was reposted by politicians, and the Army had to issue a denial.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the depicted officer, whose institution, the Army, publicly objected to the video. Viewers are an audience and are not counted; the Army as an institution is not a person.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.boomlive.in/fact-check/deepfake-of-girish-kalia-shows-him-admitting-chinese-incursion-in-arunachal-32399","primarySourceLabel":"BOOM, 26 Oct 2026: Deepfake of Girish Kalia shows him admitting Chinese incursion in Arunachal","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-27T03:12:06.222905+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-27T03:12:06.222905+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","political-deepfake","voice-deepfake","india","army","disinformation","fact-check"]},{"id":"2026-mississippi-senate-candidate-colom-campaign-undisclosed-ai-video-of-sen-hyde-smith-fleeing-reporters-gop-ag-complaint","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The ad claims the depiction is “based on a true story,” but does not disclose it was created using AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'An AI generated video shared by Colom on his social media platforms shows images of a woman generated to look like Hyde-Smith exiting what is assumed to be the U.S. Capitol.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'a 19-second AI video depicting Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith fleeing reporters'; 'At no point does the ad disclose that it was generated using AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Scott Colom's campaign posted on social media an AI-generated video, about 19 seconds long, showing a woman made to look like Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith confronted by reporters and running away at the U.S. Capitol; the post called it based on a true story and did not disclose that it was made with AI.","causal_attribution":"Description of the video by outlets that reported on it; the AI generation is also accepted by the campaign's defence of its use of AI (c4). The tool is not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On October 1, 2026, Colom’s campaign posted a 19-second deepfake, AI-generated video to Facebook and Instagram.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'came 33 days before the Nov. 3 election'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The state Republican Party's release says the campaign posted the video on 1 October 2026 to Facebook and Instagram; the Mississippi Free Press says it came 33 days before the 3 November election.","causal_attribution":"Date as stated by the party release and consistent with the newspaper's count of days."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Desperate candidates deploy desperate tactics.'; 'this AI video is no different'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Hyde-Smith's campaign manager objected to the video, calling it an AI video and part of a campaign of lies and deception.","causal_attribution":"The depicted senator's campaign's own response, quoted by Magnolia Tribune."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The Mississippi Republican Party asked Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch in an Oct. 22 letter to investigate whether'; 'Colom’s campaign manager Gerard Henderson defended the campaign’s use of AI to generate the video of Hyde-Smith in an Oct. 22 statement to the Mississippi Free Press.'; 'Clearly this is a joke'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The Mississippi Republican Party is asking the Attorney General to investigate and seek injunctive relief over Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom’s use of an AI generated video'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 22 October 2026 the Mississippi Republican Party asked the state Attorney General to investigate whether the video violated Mississippi Code 97-13-47 and to seek an injunction; Colom's campaign manager defended the campaign's use of AI to generate the video, called the complaint an act of desperation and wrote \"Clearly this is a joke\".","causal_attribution":"The complaint's legal theory is the party's allegation; no authority has found a violation."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I’m portraying a true story.'; 'could apply to Colom’s AI-generated video of Hyde-Smith running from reporters'; 'Fitch will have to determine whether'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Colom described the video as portraying a true story; the Mississippi Free Press notes that the law's exemption for satire or parody could apply and that the Attorney General will have to determine whether the law was broken.","causal_attribution":"Counterevidence and status: the campaign's defence and the newspaper's account of the exemption; the legal question is unresolved."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On Friday, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch notified Scott Colom and Scott Colom for Senate to remove recent AI-generated ads posted by the campaign on their social media platforms.'; 'or else the office may file an injunction as authorized by law'; 'According to the AG, the video appears to violate State law against the use of political “deepfakes” to influence elections.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'Fitch said she asked that the ads be removed or else the office may file an injunction as authorized by law. She also asked Colom's campaign to preserve all records related to this matter so as not to obstruct justice.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On Friday 23 October 2026 Attorney General Lynn Fitch said she had notified Colom and his campaign that their recent AI-generated ads appeared to violate state law against the use of political deepfakes to influence elections, asked that they be removed that afternoon or her office might file an injunction, and asked the campaign to preserve all related records.","causal_attribution":"The Attorney General's own statement, relayed by two stations; her view that the ads appear to violate the law is not a court finding."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Clearly this was parody, maybe too close to home'; 'We are going to delete the post in the spirit of being good stewards of their money.'; 'I will not waste those hard-earned dollars on costly litigation'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'Clearly this was parody, maybe too close to home'; 'We are going to delete the post in the spirit of being good stewards of their money.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Colom responded that the video was parody and that the campaign would delete the post rather than spend donors' money on costly litigation.","causal_attribution":"The candidate's own statement, relayed by two stations."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'As of 4 p.m. Friday, the AI video no longer appears on the Scott Colom For Senate Facebook page.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'As of Friday afternoon, the AI video appears to have been'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"By the afternoon of 23 October the video no longer appeared on the Scott Colom For Senate Facebook page, according to WLOX and WLBT.","causal_attribution":"Observation of the campaign's Facebook page by two Gray-owned stations, treated as one reporting chain."}],"effects":[{"label":"senator depicted in fabricated conduct in an undisclosed AI-generated campaign video weeks before an election; her campaign objected","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-gop-accuses-scott-colom-of-illegally-using-ai-to-depict-cindy-hyde-smith-ahead-of-the-election/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23; no translation needed (research agent, an AI).","independence_group":"mississippi-free-press"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://magnoliatribune.com/2026/10/06/after-starting-his-campaign-with-a-fake-call-colom-shares-ai-generated-video-of-hyde-smith/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23; no translation needed (research agent, an AI).","independence_group":"magnolia-tribune"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://magnoliatribune.com/2026/10/22/msgop-claims-coloms-ai-generated-video-violates-mississippi-law/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23; no translation needed (research agent, an AI).","independence_group":"magnolia-tribune"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.wxxv25.com/mississippi-republican-party-requests-investigation-into-democrat-scott-coloms-deepfake-ai-generated-video-falsely-depicting-u-s-senator-cindy-hyde-smith/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23; the page prints the state Republican Party's press release. No translation needed (research agent, an AI).","independence_group":"msgop-oct-22-release"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.wlox.com/2026/10/23/attorney-general-asks-colom-remove-ai-generated-ads-says-it-appears-violate-state-law/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200). WLBT report hosted on wlox.com (Gray stations share copy); relays the Attorney General's statement of Friday 23 October 2026 and the station's observation that the video appeared deleted.","independence_group":"gray-mississippi-stations"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/mississippi-ag-asks-colom-remove-160220432.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200; Yahoo News copy of WJTV, timestamp Fri 23 October 2026 4:02 PM UTC). Relays the Attorney General's statement and the Colom campaign's response.","independence_group":"wjtv"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.wlox.com/2026/10/23/colom-responds-ags-request-remove-ai-generated-ads/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200). WLOX report of 23 October 2026 with Colom's statement and the station's 4 p.m. observation of the campaign Facebook page.","independence_group":"gray-mississippi-stations"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["elections","public_life"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool generated the video.","Whether the video was also removed from Instagram or other platforms after the Facebook post was deleted.","Whether the Attorney General takes any further step after the deletion; no injunction, charge or court ruling is reported.","How many people viewed the video."],"geography":{"basis":"The video was posted by a Mississippi U.S. Senate campaign about a sitting U.S. senator, and the complaint went to the Mississippi Attorney General (Mississippi Free Press, Magnolia Tribune). No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because outlets that reported on the video describe it as an AI-generated depiction of the senator, the maker's campaign defended its use of AI, and the depicted senator's campaign objected while her party filed a complaint with the Attorney General. Updated with the Attorney General's 23 October request that the AI-generated ads be removed as apparently unlawful and the campaign's deletion of the Facebook post, both relayed by Mississippi stations. The illegality view is attributed to the party and the Attorney General, and the campaign's parody and true-story defences are kept.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-26"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The outlets describe the campaign's video as AI-generated, showing a woman generated to look like the senator running from reporters, and the Mississippi Free Press reports that Colom's campaign manager defended the campaign's use of AI to generate it. The AI-generated likeness is the material the senator's campaign objected to and the subject of the party's complaint to the Attorney General. The generating tool is not named.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Mississippi Senate candidate posted undisclosed AI video of Sen. Hyde-Smith fleeing reporters; campaign deleted it after AG said it appeared to break state law","summary":"In early October 2026 the campaign of Scott Colom, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, posted on social media a 19-second AI-generated video showing a woman made to look like his opponent, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, running from a crowd of reporters at the U.S. Capitol and getting into a car. Local outlets report that the post called it \"based on a true story\" and did not disclose that it was made with AI. Hyde-Smith's campaign manager called it an AI video and part of a campaign of \"lies and deception\". On 22 October the Mississippi Republican Party asked the state Attorney General to investigate whether the video broke a state law against knowingly spreading a deceptive AI depiction of a candidate within 90 days of an election, and to seek an injunction. Colom's campaign manager defended the campaign's use of AI and called the complaint desperate; the law exempts satire and parody. On Friday 23 October Attorney General Lynn Fitch said she had notified the campaign that its AI-generated ads appeared to violate the state law against political deepfakes and asked that they be removed that afternoon, or her office might seek an injunction. Colom called the video parody but said the campaign would delete the post rather than spend donors' money on litigation, and by that afternoon two Mississippi stations reported that it no longer appeared on the campaign's Facebook page. No court has ruled on whether the video broke the law.","incidentDate":"2026-10-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-06","aiSystem":"Unnamed AI video generator used by the Colom campaign to produce a 19-second video of a likeness of the senator (as described by Mississippi outlets)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A senator was shown in fabricated conduct in an undisclosed AI-generated campaign video posted by her opponent's campaign weeks before an election; her campaign objected, her party sought an Attorney General investigation, and the campaign deleted the post after the Attorney General said it appeared to violate state law (reported).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the senator depicted in the video, whose campaign objected (Magnolia Tribune, 6 October). Exact 1. Viewers are an audience and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-MS","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-gop-accuses-scott-colom-of-illegally-using-ai-to-depict-cindy-hyde-smith-ahead-of-the-election/","primarySourceLabel":"Mississippi Free Press, 22 October 2026: Mississippi GOP accuses Scott Colom of illegally using AI to depict Cindy Hyde-Smith","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:10:24.61695+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T03:04:36.827934+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["political-deepfake","election","ai-video","depicted-or-impersonated","mississippi"]},{"id":"2026-thailand-afp-finds-ai-generated-image-of-prime-minister-anutin-dining-with-businessman-spread-on-election-eve","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The image of Anutin at a dinner table with Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith, and three other women spread in a February 7 Facebook post ... Other Facebook and TikTok posts shared the image of Anutin and Mauerberger alongside captions suggesting the two have long been in contact.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"An image showing Anutin at a dinner table with Mauerberger and three women spread in a 7 February 2026 Facebook post and in other Facebook and TikTok posts, on the eve of the 8 February general election, with captions suggesting the two men had long been in contact.","causal_attribution":"AFP Fact Check."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"However, the image contains visual irregularities indicative of AI generation ... The system indicated with a \"Very High\" confidence that the image was created using Google’s AI tools.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"AFP found visual irregularities in the image and reports that Google's SynthID detector indicated with very high confidence that it was created using Google's AI tools.","causal_attribution":"AFP's own analysis."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Anutin publicly denied the photo's authenticity hours after it surfaced online ... Anutin said on February 7, 2026 at the Bhumjaithai headquarters in Bangkok.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Anutin publicly denied the photo's authenticity on 7 February 2026, saying it was an AI photo.","causal_attribution":"AFP, citing Anutin's public statement."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"However, Anutin and other high-ranking Thai politicians and business figures had been plagued by a December 2025 leak of photos showing them with Mauerberger ... Mauerberger denied the allegations against him","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A newsletter has accused Mauerberger of facilitating money laundering and scam operations, which he denies, and genuine photos of Anutin with him leaked in December 2025.","causal_attribution":"AFP Fact Check."}],"effects":[{"label":"the prime minister was shown in an AI-generated image dining with a businessman accused of laundering money for scam networks, circulated on election eve with captions implying long ties, and publicly denied it","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.96KG9G3","kind":"fact_check","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-18 through an Internet Archive capture (the live page returned HTTP 403); no translation was involved and no human reviewer read the article. AFP Thailand, published 9 February 2026. The Facebook and TikTok posts, the SynthID result screen and Anutin's archived statement were not inspected directly; their content is as AFP describes it.","independence_group":"afp-factcheck-anutin-image"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["public_life","elections"],"unknowns":["Who created the image and which tool was used.","How widely the image spread and whether platforms removed or labelled the posts.","Whether any complaint or legal action followed."],"geography":{"basis":"AFP Thailand reports that the image surfaced on the eve of Thailand's general election in posts about Anutin's purported ties to the businessman, and Anutin, Thailand's prime minister, denied the image at his party's headquarters in Bangkok. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["TH"],"affected_person_countries":["TH"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): AFP Fact Check found that an image of Thailand's prime minister dining with a businessman accused of laundering money for scam networks was AI-generated, citing visual irregularities and a SynthID result, and reports that the image circulated on election eve with captions implying long ties and that the prime minister publicly denied it. The harm is reputational and attributed; the account rests on one fact check.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"AFP Fact Check examined the image itself: it lists visual irregularities indicative of AI generation and reports that Google's SynthID detector indicated with very high confidence that the image was created using Google's AI tools. That generated image of Anutin is the image the posts circulated and he publicly denied. The maker and the specific tool are not identified.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Thailand: AFP finds an AI-generated image of Prime Minister Anutin dining with a South African businessman spread on election eve; Anutin denied it","summary":"AFP Fact Check reported on 9 February 2026 that an image showing Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul at a dinner table with South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger and three women spread in a 7 February Facebook post, and in other Facebook and TikTok posts, on the eve of Thailand's 8 February general election, with captions suggesting the two men had long been in contact. A newsletter has accused Mauerberger of laundering money for scam networks, which he denies, and genuine photos of the two men leaked in December 2025 had already drawn questions from opposition lawmakers. AFP found visual irregularities and ran the image through Google's SynthID detector, which indicated with very high confidence that it was made with Google's AI tools. Anutin publicly denied the photo's authenticity on 7 February, saying it was an AI photo. Who made the image is not reported.","incidentDate":"2026-02-07","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-02-09","aiSystem":"An image that Google's SynthID detector, run by AFP, indicated with very high confidence was created with Google's AI tools (the specific Google tool and the image's creator not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified Google image tool (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to AFP, an AI-generated image showing Thailand's prime minister dining with a businessman accused of laundering money for scam networks circulated on social media on the eve of the general election with captions implying long ties; the prime minister publicly denied the image.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person is counted: Anutin, who publicly denied the image. Mauerberger and the three women also appear in it, but no response or consequence is reported for them, so they are not counted and the count is a lower bound. Posts, shares and viewers are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"TH","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.96KG9G3","primarySourceLabel":"AFP Fact Check, 9 February 2026: Image of Thai PM-elect with South African businessman is AI-generated","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-18T03:06:31.869528+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-18T03:06:31.869528+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-image","political-deepfake","elections","thailand","fact-check","synthid","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-new-hampshire-senate-republicans-ai-altered-candidate-image-cash-gold-chains-meta-ads","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The New Hampshire Senate Republicans paid to show Facebook and Instagram users an AI-altered image of Democratic state Senate candidate Leonard Bell laughing in front of piles of cash and wearing gold chains'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The New Hampshire Senate Republicans paid Meta to show Facebook and Instagram users an AI-altered image of Democratic state Senate candidate Leonard Bell laughing in front of piles of cash and wearing gold chains.","causal_attribution":"Granite Post, citing Meta’s Ad Library."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Under Meta’s rules for political ads, that label means the advertiser told Meta the ad includes a photorealistic image made or changed with artificial intelligence (AI).'; 'Media in this ad created or edited with AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to Granite Post, Meta labelled the ad \"Digitally created\" and the ad’s detail page states that its media was created or edited with AI, a label that under Meta’s political-ad rules means the advertiser disclosed a photorealistic image made or changed with AI.","causal_attribution":"Granite Post’s description of Meta’s label and ad detail page; the Ad Library page was not inspected directly. No tool is named, and the Senate Republicans did not answer questions about the tool or prompt."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The face appears to be lifted from a real photo: a family snapshot taken outdoors at sunset'; 'his face has been cut out, turned black-and-white, and dropped into a scene built around it.'; 'None of what is depicted in the ad is real.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Granite Post reports that Bell’s face appears to have been taken from a family snapshot, cut out, turned black-and-white and placed in a constructed scene, and that the gold chains, ring, watch, plaid suit and leather chair are not his.","causal_attribution":"Granite Post’s description and Bell’s statements to the outlet."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Everything in that photo is false other than my face'; 'There are people that know me know that that depiction of me is as false as false can get.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Bell told Granite Post that everything in the image is false other than his face and that the depiction of him is as false as false can get.","causal_attribution":"Bell’s statements to Granite Post."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the ad first ran from Sept. 7 through Sept. 12'; 'as of Oct. 2, when it was still running'; 'Taken together, the three ads have put the altered image on New Hampshire screens between 39,000 and 50,000 times, at a cost of $1,100 to $1,400.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The image ran in three Meta ads from 7 September 2026 and was still running on 2 October; together the ads put it on New Hampshire screens between 39,000 and 50,000 times at a cost of $1,100 to $1,400.","causal_attribution":"Granite Post, citing Meta’s Ad Library; impressions are screen showings, not people."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'For decades, movies, television, and music videos have used similar visual shorthand for a Black man portrayed as flashy and dangerous'; 'Republicans are weaponizing this technology to make racist caricatures of proud veterans running for office in New Hampshire'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Granite Post describes the image as using visual shorthand long used to portray a Black man as flashy and dangerous, and state Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democratic co-sponsor of New Hampshire’s 2024 deepfake law, called it a racist caricature.","causal_attribution":"The outlet’s analysis and a Democratic state senator’s statement; the Senate Republicans and Bell’s opponent did not respond by publication."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Senate Republicans did not respond to questions about tools to create the ad or the prompt used to create it by time of publication.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The New Hampshire Senate Republicans did not respond to questions about the tools or prompt used to create the ad by the time of publication.","causal_attribution":"Granite Post."}],"effects":[{"label":"a state Senate candidate was shown in paid political ads in an AI-altered image built around his real face, surrounded by cash and gold chains, which he says is false in every detail but his face","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://granitepostnews.com/news/politics/leonard-bell-ai-ad-nh-gop/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200); no translation was involved and no human reviewer read the article. Granite Post, byline Colin Booth, published 5 October 2026; the outlet also ran the story under the headline \"Is the NH Senate Republicans’ AI ad of Leonard Bell racist?\". Granite Post’s about-us page (read on 2026-10-06) describes it as the 10th state-based newsroom of COURIER, a public benefit corporation owned by Good Information Inc., whose newsrooms practise independent, point-of-view journalism and which accepts no funding from any party, party committee, candidate or campaign. The Meta Ad Library entries it describes were not inspected directly.","independence_group":"granite-post-bell-ad"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["public_life","elections"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and what prompt; the advertiser did not answer.","Whether a complaint has been filed with the New Hampshire attorney general or a court under the 2024 deepfake law.","Whether the ads remain active after 2 October 2026.","Any response from the New Hampshire Senate Republicans or from Bell’s opponent."],"geography":{"basis":"The ads were bought by the New Hampshire Senate Republicans about a candidate for the New Hampshire state Senate, and Granite Post, citing Meta’s Ad Library, says all impressions of the first ad were in New Hampshire. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): Granite Post reports that the New Hampshire Senate Republicans ran Meta ads with an image of state Senate candidate Leonard Bell that the ad’s own disclosure says was created or edited with AI, built around his real face and surrounded by cash and gold chains, and that Bell says everything in it but his face is false. The harm is reputational and is alleged; the racial-stereotype criticism is attributed to the outlet and a Democratic state senator. The account rests on one outlet’s reading of the Meta Ad Library.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-06"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Granite Post reports that Meta labelled the ad \"Digitally created\" and that the ad’s detail page states its media was created or edited with AI, which under Meta’s rules means the advertiser disclosed a photorealistic image made or changed with AI. The outlet describes what that image shows: Bell’s real face placed into a constructed scene with cash, gold chains, a ring, a watch, a plaid suit and a leather chair that are not his. That generated depiction of Bell is the material his statements and the stereotype criticism concern. No tool is named, and the advertiser did not answer questions about the tool or prompt.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"New Hampshire Senate Republicans ran Meta ads with an AI-altered image of Black state Senate candidate Leonard Bell amid cash and gold chains, outlet reports","summary":"Granite Post reported on 5 October 2026 that the New Hampshire Senate Republicans paid Meta to show Facebook and Instagram users an image of Leonard Bell, the Democratic candidate for state Senate District 18 and the only Black candidate for state Senate in New Hampshire this year, laughing in a leather armchair buried in cash and wearing gold chains, a large ring and a watch. According to the outlet, Meta labelled the ad \"Digitally created\" and its detail page states that the media was created or edited with AI; Bell’s face appears to have been taken from a family snapshot. Bell told the outlet that everything in the image is false other than his face. Citing Meta’s Ad Library, the outlet says three ads from 7 September put the image on New Hampshire screens 39,000 to 50,000 times. The outlet describes the image as a racial stereotype, and a Democratic co-sponsor of New Hampshire’s 2024 deepfake law called it a racist caricature. The Senate Republicans did not respond to questions.","incidentDate":"2026-09-07","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-05","aiSystem":"An AI-altered photorealistic image built around the candidate’s real face, disclosed in Meta’s ad label as created or edited with AI, per Granite Post (tool not named)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A state Senate candidate was shown in paid political ads in an image that the ad’s disclosure says was created or edited with AI, built around his real face and surrounded by cash and gold chains; he says everything in it but his face is false, and the outlet and a Democratic state senator call it a racial stereotype.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person is reported harmed: Bell, who told Granite Post the image is false in every detail but his face. Three other Democratic candidates appear in matching AI-labelled ads, but the outlet reports no harm to or response from them, so they are not counted and the count is a lower bound. Impressions (39,000 to 50,000) are screen showings, not people. Documented minimum 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://granitepostnews.com/news/politics/leonard-bell-ai-ad-nh-gop/","primarySourceLabel":"Granite Post, 5 October 2026: NH Republicans used AI to turn a Black veteran’s family photo into a stereotype","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-06T03:23:12.957118+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-06T03:23:12.957118+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","political-deepfake","ai-altered-image","political-ad","meta","new-hampshire","elections","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-new-mexico-senate-republican-ai-images-ethics-complaint-stewart-fake-mugshot","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'posting a fake photo of Stewart made to look like a jail mugshot using artificial intelligence.'; 'Even though Stewart wasn't issued a citation'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'posted a mugshot-like image of Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), mentioning criminal charges never faced.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In September 2026 Sen. Jay Block posted on social media a mugshot-like image of Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart that lists criminal charges she never faced.","causal_attribution":"The New Mexican's own reporting, including an interview in which Block confirmed and defended the post. KRQE's account comes from the Democratic Party's complaint (its image is credited to the party); the complaint text was not inspected, so its independence from the New Mexican's earlier report is not established. The month follows from the New Mexican's report that word of the 2024 incident got out in the week of its 24 September article."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Block's social media posts indicate the fake mugshot was AI-generated. On X, the post had been shared more than 100 times.'; 'ostensibly booked into the Bernalillo County jail on charges of \"hit and run\" and \"abusive behavior towards staff and other lawmakers\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Block's posts indicate the fake mugshot was AI-generated; it showed Stewart ostensibly booked into the Bernalillo County jail on charges of 'hit and run' and 'abusive behavior towards staff and other lawmakers', and the X post had been shared more than 100 times.","causal_attribution":"One newspaper's description of the post; the AI tool is not named."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'much less booked into jail'; 'the incident didn't occur in Bernalillo County, as the fake image suggests'; 'He noted in an email the incident was \"not considered a hit and run crash\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Stewart was not issued a citation or booked into jail, the 2024 incident did not occur in Bernalillo County, and Santa Fe's interim police chief said it was not considered a hit and run crash.","causal_attribution":"The New Mexican's account of police and court records; the police report itself was not inspected."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Stewart said Block's post with an AI-generated image of her \"staged as a mugshot\" manufactured answers by insinuation.'; 'take down the fabricated image, and stop with the falsehoods and insinuations'; 'Block said Wednesday he stands by the post and has no plans to take it down.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Stewart said Block's post used an AI-generated image of her staged as a mugshot to manufacture answers by insinuation and asked Block and the Republican caucus to take down the fabricated image; Block said he stands by the post and has no plans to take it down.","causal_attribution":"Statements by the two senators as reported by one newspaper; the harm described is reputational and is alleged by Stewart."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'\"Everything on there was accurate with the information we were provided,\" Block said in an interview.'; 'The Senate Republican caucus shared the post on its social media accounts'; 'We now acknowledge that Senator Stewart did not appear to leave the scene'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Block told the New Mexican that everything on the post was accurate with the information provided to him; the Senate Republican caucus shared the post and later issued a corrected news release acknowledging that Stewart did not appear to leave the scene.","causal_attribution":"The poster's and the caucus's own position as reported by one newspaper."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Senate Republican leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) and the Senate Republicans shared an image on Facebook last month, showing House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque) wearing a Soviet Union pin, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland with her arm around a man in an orange jumpsuit, and former state Rep. Joseph Hernandez naked'; 'The Democratic Party said both images are \"misleading AI generated images\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Senate Republican leader Bill Sharer and the Senate Republicans shared on Facebook in September 2026 an image showing House Speaker Javier Martinez wearing a Soviet Union pin, gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland with her arm around a man in an orange jumpsuit, and former state Rep. Joseph Hernandez naked; the Democratic Party of New Mexico says it is a misleading AI-generated image.","causal_attribution":"One station's account of the party's complaint; the AI-generated character of this image rests on the complaint, and the inspected sources carry no statement from the three people depicted."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The Democratic Party of New Mexico has filed an ethics complaint, saying two Republican social media posts used images created with artificial intelligence.'; 'violate a 2024 state law cracking down on deepfakes. They want the posts removed and posters fined.'; 'he did not address the issues mentioned in the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Democratic Party of New Mexico has filed an ethics complaint saying both images violate a 2024 state law on deepfakes and asking that the posts be removed and the posters fined; Sharer's statement in response did not address the issues in the complaint.","causal_attribution":"A party's complaint as reported by one station; the complaint text was not inspected and its allegations are unproven."}],"effects":[{"label":"a state Senate leader was depicted in a fake jail mugshot, indicated by the poster to be AI-generated, listing charges she never faced; she asked for it to be taken down and the poster said he has no plans to remove it","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"three Democratic politicians were depicted in a Facebook image that the state Democratic Party calls a misleading AI-generated image","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.krqe.com/news/politics/democratic-party-of-new-mexico-files-ethics-complaint-over-ai-images/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"KRQE article by Jordan Honeycutt, published 2 October 2026. The article page answered HTTP 403 to this host, so the full text was read on 2026-10-03 from the site's AMP version of the same URL (/amp/) and checked against the post's WordPress API record. A related-story card inside the page was not used. The description of the images and their AI-generated character derives from the Democratic Party's complaint.","independence_group":"dpnm-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fake-ai-generated-mugshot-prominent-035900442.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Santa Fe New Mexican article by Daniel J. Chacón, read on 2026-10-03 through its Yahoo News syndication (canonical santafenewmexican.com page not fetched). Based on the reporter's interview with Block, a statement from Stewart, Senate Republican releases and Santa Fe police; independent of the party's complaint.","independence_group":"santa-fe-new-mexican"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["public_life","elections"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool or tools made the images, and whether the Facebook image is AI-generated beyond the party's allegation.","The exact dates of the Facebook post and of Block's post.","The body with which the ethics complaint was filed, its filing date and its outcome.","Whether Martinez, Haaland or Hernandez responded to the Facebook image.","Whether either post has been removed."],"geography":{"basis":"The images were posted by New Mexico state senators and the New Mexico Senate Republicans and depict New Mexico state politicians; the complaint invokes a New Mexico state law (KRQE, Santa Fe New Mexican). The ethics complaint is not a court proceeding.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated) consistent with 2026-wisconsin-cooke-van-orden-ai-deepfake-videos-cease-and-desist and 2026-texas-goodwin-ai-deepfake-campaign-ads-sheriff-complaint: a newspaper reports that a state senator posted a fake mugshot of a Senate leader that his own posts indicate was AI-generated, listing charges she never faced, and that she asked for it to be taken down; a TV station reports a party ethics complaint alleging that this image and a Facebook image of three other politicians are misleading AI-generated images. The harm is reputational and is alleged; the poster stands by his post.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-03"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Block's own social media posts indicate the fake mugshot of Stewart was AI-generated, and Stewart, in a statement quoted by the newspaper, calls it a fabricated image. For the Facebook image of Martinez, Haaland and Hernandez, the only inspected basis is the Democratic Party of New Mexico's complaint, which KRQE reports calls both images misleading AI-generated images. No tool is named.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"New Mexico: the state Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint, reported on 2 October 2026, over two Senate Republican social media posts from September 2026 that it says used misleading AI-generated images, including a fake jail mugshot of Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart that she publicly asked to be taken down","summary":"In September 2026 Republican state Sen. Jay Block posted on social media a fake image of New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart made to look like a jail mugshot. The Santa Fe New Mexican (24 September 2026) reports that Block's posts indicate the image was AI-generated and that it showed her ostensibly booked into the Bernalillo County jail on charges of 'hit and run' and 'abusive behavior towards staff and other lawmakers'. Stewart was not issued a citation or booked, and Santa Fe's interim police chief said the 2024 incident in which she drove over a pedestrian's foot was not considered a hit and run crash. Stewart asked Block and the Senate Republican caucus to take down the fabricated image. Block said he stands by the post and has no plans to remove it. KRQE reported on 2 October 2026 that the Democratic Party of New Mexico had filed an ethics complaint over this post and over an image that Senate Republican leader Bill Sharer and the Senate Republicans shared on Facebook in September, which shows House Speaker Javier Martinez wearing a Soviet Union pin, gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland with her arm around a man in an orange jumpsuit and former state Rep. Joseph Hernandez naked. The party calls both 'misleading AI generated images' that violate a 2024 state law on deepfakes and wants the posts removed and the posters fined.","incidentDate":"2026-09-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-24","aiSystem":"Unnamed AI image tool used to make a fake jail mugshot of Sen. Mimi Stewart posted by Sen. Jay Block (his posts indicate the image was AI-generated, per the Santa Fe New Mexican) and, according to the Democratic Party of New Mexico's ethics complaint, an image of three Democratic politicians shared by the Senate Republicans on Facebook; no tool is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A state Senate leader was depicted in a fake jail mugshot, which the poster's own posts indicate was AI-generated, listing charges she never faced; she publicly asked for the fabricated image to be taken down, and the poster said he stands by the post and has no plans to take it down. The state Democratic Party alleges in an ethics complaint that this image and a Facebook image of three other Democratic politicians are misleading AI-generated images.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person is reported harmed: Stewart, shown in the fake mugshot, who called it a fabricated image and asked for it to be taken down (Santa Fe New Mexican; KRQE). Martinez, Haaland and Hernandez are depicted in the Facebook image that the Democratic Party of New Mexico calls a misleading AI-generated image, but the inspected sources report no harm to or response from them and the complaint is the party's, so they are not counted and the count is a lower bound. The unidentified man in the orange jumpsuit is not counted. Shares of the post are not person counts. Documented minimum 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-NM","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.krqe.com/news/politics/democratic-party-of-new-mexico-files-ethics-complaint-over-ai-images/","primarySourceLabel":"KRQE, 2 October 2026: Democratic Party of New Mexico files ethics complaint over AI images","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-03T03:17:39.879526+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T03:17:39.879526+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","political-deepfake","fake-mugshot","new-mexico","ethics-complaint","x","facebook","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-wisconsin-cooke-van-orden-ai-deepfake-videos-cease-and-desist","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The letter specifically cites an AI video that Derrick Van Orden posted to his X account on Aug. 4, 2026.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'your pattern of posting misleading AI-generated videos that falsely attribute statements to Ms. Cooke that she did not make'; 'posting myriad such videos.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'is instead spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'is instead spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth, pretending that I said things that I didn'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'an ethics complaint was filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Congressman Derrick Van Orden. The complaint accuses Van Orden of posting another AI-generated graphic of Rebecca Cooke without disclosing that it’s AI-generated'; 'According to a press release from Rebecca Cooke, this is a direct violation of Wisconsin Ethics Laws'; 'The complaint was filed by an Eau Claire citizen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"On 22 October 2026 an ethics complaint was filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Van Orden over his posting of another graphic of Cooke that her campaign says is AI-generated and was not disclosed as such; WEAU says an Eau Claire citizen filed it, and Cooke's campaign calls it a violation of Wisconsin ethics law.","causal_attribution":"The Cooke campaign's press release as relayed by WEAU; the graphic's AI origin is the campaign's characterisation, not examined by WEAU."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'ethics complaint is nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt, filed three months too late in a desperate attempt to distract from her disastrous debate'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Spokesperson Grace Kim said, “Rebecca Cooke’s ethics complaint is nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt, filed three months too late in a desperate attempt to distract from her disastrous debate.”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Van Orden's campaign called the ethics complaint a cheap publicity stunt filed three months too late to distract from the candidates' debate.","causal_attribution":"The Van Orden campaign's response, sent to WEAU and attributed by WIZM to spokesperson Grace Kim; it does not address whether the graphic is AI-generated."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"the image used in the graphic is a photograph of Rebecca Cooke taken during a May interview with News 8","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Van Orden’s campaign claiming that the image used was not an AI image rather taken from an interview with a television station earlier this year","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"Van Orden's campaign said they simply used a screenshot of that moment, a spokesperson said, and that no AI-generation was employed.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On 23 October 2026 Van Orden said the image of Cooke in the debate graphic is a real photograph taken during a May 2026 interview with La Crosse News 8 Now, and his campaign said it used a screenshot of that footage and no AI generation.","causal_attribution":"Van Orden's press release and his campaign's statements as relayed by three outlets; no outlet reports an independent examination of the image."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Though the Van Orden campaign said the photo they used was not AI-generated, Van Orden has used the News 8 video to generate several deepfake videos he shared on X, starting on Aug. 4","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Van Orden used the same News 8 video of Cooke to generate several deepfake videos he shared on X, starting on 4 August 2026.","causal_attribution":"The newspaper's own account of the August posts."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We trust the Ethics Commission to conduct a full investigation and determine the truth.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"\"We trust the Ethics Commission to conduct a full investigation and determine the truth. That's why the law was passed.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Cooke's campaign responded that it trusted the Ethics Commission to conduct a full investigation and determine the truth.","causal_attribution":"The Cooke campaign's statement."}],"effects":[{"label":"a congressional candidate was depicted in AI-generated videos posted by her opponent saying things she says she never said","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.wpr.org/news/cooke-cease-and-desist-letter-van-orden-ai-deepfakes","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-02 and re-read on 2026-10-23 (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.","independence_group":"wpr"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cqk8OPoIGN__tQeSgNPW0RqHYJr82Xuo/view","kind":"legal_letter","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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 again on 2026-10-23 and converted with pdftotext. A party's own document: it establishes what the campaign alleges, not that the allegations are true.","independence_group":"cooke-campaign"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.weau.com/2026/09/30/rebecca-cooke-sends-derrick-van-orden-cease-desist-over-ai-deepfake-videos/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-02 and re-read on 2026-10-23 (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.","independence_group":"cooke-campaign"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.weau.com/2026/10/22/ethics-complaint-filed-against-congressman-derrick-van-orden-over-ai-violation/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-23 (WEAU Staff, 22 October 2026). Based on the Cooke campaign's press release, with Van Orden's statement in an embedded quote block of the page; grouped with the campaign's releases. Re-read live on 2026-10-26: WEAU had reworded its opening and added an update with Van Orden's 23 October press release.","independence_group":"cooke-campaign"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.wizmnews.com/2026/10/24/van-orden-ethics-complaint-over-cooke-image/","kind":"local_radio_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-26 (WIZM, published 24 October 2026 and updated with the Van Orden campaign's comments). Relays the Cooke campaign's release, the campaign spokesperson's statement and Van Orden's 23 October statement; the description of the graphic is the station's own.","independence_group":"wizm"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/van-orden-says-photo-center-022814667.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-26 on Yahoo News, where the article states it originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Valerie Yurk and Laura Schulte, updated 24 October 2026). The account of the August deepfake videos and their dates is the newspaper's own.","independence_group":"milwaukee-journal-sentinel"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["elections","public_life"],"unknowns":["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 on the September letter, which was not in the retrieved page.","Whether the campaign will pursue a defamation claim or other legal action.","Whether the debate graphic named in the ethics complaint was AI-generated, as the complaint says, or a screenshot of a May 2026 newscast, as Van Orden says; no independent examination is reported. Whether the Wisconsin Ethics Commission accepts or rules on the complaint."],"geography":{"basis":"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.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Core case (depicted_or_impersonated): a candidate's lawyers' letter, read in full, documents her 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. The 2026-10-23 review adds the ethics complaint filed on 22 October 2026 and his response. The 2026-10-26 review adds Van Orden's statement that the graphic named in the complaint shows a real photograph, which leaves that graphic's AI origin disputed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-26"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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; WPR also describes Van Orden's answer to the letter as another Grok-assisted video. The response from Van Orden's campaign quoted by WPR does not address whether the videos are AI-generated. The further graphic in the October ethics complaint is called AI-generated only by Cooke's campaign and the complaint; Van Orden says it is a real newscast photograph, and no examination of it is reported. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel separately reports that Van Orden used a News 8 video of Cooke to generate several deepfake videos posted to X in August.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Wisconsin: Rebecca Cooke says Rep. Derrick Van Orden posted AI videos of her saying things she never said; a lawyers' letter and an ethics complaint followed","summary":"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!'. On 22 October 2026, WEAU reported that an ethics complaint had been filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Van Orden over his posting of another graphic of Cooke that, according to her campaign's press release, is AI-generated and was posted without disclosure; WEAU says the complaint was filed by an Eau Claire citizen. Van Orden's campaign called it a cheap publicity stunt filed three months too late. On 23 October 2026 Van Orden said the graphic used a real photograph of Cooke taken during a May 2026 interview with La Crosse News 8 Now, and his campaign supplied a frame from that footage; the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the campaign said it used a screenshot and no AI generation, and that Van Orden had earlier used the same News 8 video to generate several deepfake videos he posted to X in August. Cooke's campaign said it trusted the Ethics Commission to determine the truth. No ruling and no independent examination of the graphic are reported.","incidentDate":"2026-08-04","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-30","aiSystem":"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","aiProduct":"Grok Imagine (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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, an ethics complaint over a further graphic, which he says shows a real photograph, followed in October 2026, and the opponent's campaign accuses her of lying about her record.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, the candidate on whose behalf the letter was sent. Exact 1. Voters said to be misled are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-WI","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.wpr.org/news/cooke-cease-and-desist-letter-van-orden-ai-deepfakes","primarySourceLabel":"Wisconsin Public Radio, 1 October 2026: Cooke campaign sends cease-and-desist to Congressman Van Orden over AI deepfakes","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-02T03:12:28.898646+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T03:11:02.643475+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","political-deepfake","election","wisconsin","grok-imagine","x","cease-and-desist","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}