AI-generated political ads warp reality ahead of U.S. midterms

The proliferation of ads generated by artificial intelligence in U.S. federal, state and local elections comes against the backdrop of declining trust in the technology. | REUTERS

AFP-JIJI

Sep 23, 2026

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES – A political ad depicts a U.S. Senate hopeful remarking on God and gender while scrawling in a Bible with a crayon. But he never filmed the clip: it is yet another artificial intelligence-generated video pushed by a rival ahead of the midterm elections.

AI-created ads — placing politicians in fictitious situations — have proliferated ahead of the November elections, a largely unregulated form of political communication that is increasingly being adopted despite a broader backlash against the technology.

Earlier this month, Ken Paxton, a Republican Senate nominee in Texas, posted an AI-generated ad on X depicting his Democratic rival, James Talarico, saying: “Look, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity.”

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