Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has fired back at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) threat of legal action over his use of memes and deepfakes.
What Happened: Governor Newsom has denied any intention to suppress parodies and made it clear that he was laying down the law with Musk.
His statement came after days of escalating feud between the duo, which started with Newsom signing a stringent law banning political “deepfakes,” earlier this week.
Following the governor’s enactment of three bills aimed at restricting the use of AI in creating fake images for videos and political ads, Musk accused Newsom of trying to outlaw parody.
“I think Mr. Musk has missed the punchline. Parody is still alive and well in California but deepfakes and manipulation of elections that hurts democracy and the integrity of the system and trust.”
When probed about whether he intends to seek legal action against Musk, Newsom said, “The law asserts that many can seek injunction relief. I just signed the law … and I haven’t had a chance to review the specific lawsuit around a conservative blogger that seems offended by our laws.”
Musk responded to Newsom’s potential legal action on social media with one word: “Amazing.”
When Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, shared the same video and called it “Unconstitutional,” Musk agreed, stating, “Very much so, but that didn't stop them.”
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Why It Matters: Musk has faced accusations of manipulating the platform to prioritize his posts and suspending the accounts of journalists who report on him.
In response to Musk’s actions, several major advertisers have pulled their ads from X.
Meanwhile, the rising misuse of AI to produce deepfakes has become an increasing concern. A previous study by Google’s DeepMind showed that deepfakes of politicians and celebrities were more prevalent than AI-driven cyberattacks.
Earlier this year, AI image generation tools from OpenAI and Microsoft were linked to election misinformation scandals.
In January 2024, deepfake incidents involving public figures like Taylor Swift and President Joe Biden raised concerns at the White House.
The law signed by Newsom also came after an AI-manipulated campaign video ridiculing Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in July gained attention after being shared by Musk.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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