According to a report by The Guardian in the UK on October 27th, experts say that on the eve of the November mid-term elections in the United States, social media feeds are being overwhelmed by an unprecedented wave of AI-driven fake information.
As tens of millions of Americans prepare to vote, social media companies have reduced their efforts to protect voters from election-related lies. Artificial intelligence has made it infinitely easier to spread false information, and platforms are increasingly relying on AI rather than human intervention to handle such situations.
"Today, you only need extremely low costs to initiate an information operation, whereas its quality was completely unattainable in 2016," said Frances Haugen, former Facebook data engineer. She explained that those who use underhanded tactics can bypass content review rules because "you just need a slight adjustment when creating a post, and some of them will be through."
From Pennsylvania to Texas, the campaigns have been busy dealing with lies that spread rapidly online. Unlike previous elections, they find themselves in a dilemma: who should they turn to for help when false information and lies spread?
In Texas, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator James Taralico suspended his campaign earlier this month due to flu. However, many social media posts presented another false reason for his absence: he was allegedly receiving treatment at a mental health facility in Ohio.
This statement is completely fabricated, promoted by a right-wing “provocator” who released a recorded conversation with hospital staff that had been falsified. Talaryco’s campaign released surveillance videos showing him at his home in Texas, and the candidate publicly clarified that he had never been in Ohio.
Tralicco, a Republican opponent in Texas, also released a campaign ad earlier this year, using AI-generated images to show Tralicco seemingly rewriting the Bible.
"I think Texans have had enough of these lies in our politics," Tara Lee said to NBC News in September. "These AI-generated deepfakes ads offer no contribution to our citizens' discourse and do nothing to clarify the choices before voters."
The Guardian states that previously, the cyber-attack teams behind election misinformation operated in marginal areas; now, their creations may be amplified by official government sources.
Previously, posts on X and right-wing blogs claimed that an undocumented immigrant arrested in central Pennsylvania was a “staff member and campaigner for Democrat Janelle Stern’s congressional campaign team”. The staff worked hard to uncover the truth and tried to stop the spread of lies.
However, just as they were investigating, an official statement from the Department of Homeland Security reinforced this claim. Charles Wol, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said, “It is unbelievable that Janell Stelson hired an illegal foreigner to work in congressional elections, let alone a person who exposes himself in public places.”
However, records released by Stilson's campaign team show that the immigrant Chimakoibum Addajor Igbojekwe did not have any paid positions within Stilson's campaign team. Scott Perry, the Republican congressman who is Stilson's opponent, continues to run advertisements containing this claim.
