Republican congressman posting deepfake videos of his Democratic opponent online
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WASHINGTON — Congressman Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, has been posting deepfake videos of his Democrat opponent online. The videos manipulate Democrat Rebecca Cooke’s image to make it seem like she said things she didn’t. Van Orden and Cooke are locked in Wisconsin’s most competitive congressional race.
It’s part of the growing use of AI-powered images in American politics and campaigns.
“They are effective, quite frankly,” said Bill Gates, the executive director of the Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory at Arizona State University. “I mean, they get your attention.”
Gates said technology has allowed the manipulation of images for a long time. The difference now is that Artificial Intelligence platforms make the manipulation easier, cheaper and faster.
“AI does allow, for example, misinformation to be spread quicker, but then o…