In a recent development, supporters of former President Donald Trump are reportedly using AI-generated fake images of black voters to promote Republican votes.
What Happened: Trump supporters have been creating and sharing deepfakes, which depict black people as supporters of the former president, the BBC’s Panorama discovered. These images are being used to encourage African Americans to vote Republican.
The report suggests that the images are part of a broader disinformation trend leading up to the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November. Unlike the foreign influence campaigns seen in 2016, these AI-generated images are being created and shared by U.S. voters themselves.
One of the individuals involved in creating these images is Mark Kaye, who shared an image of Trump with a group of black women at a party on Facebook. Kaye, who has over a million followers on the platform, admitted that the image was not real but attached it to an article about black voters supporting Trump.
Another widely viewed AI image shows Trump posing with black voters on a front porch. It was initially posted by a satirical account but gained widespread attention when it was reposted with a new caption falsely claiming that Trump had stopped his motorcade to meet these people.
Why It Matters: The use of AI-generated fake images to influence voter sentiment is a concerning development in U.S. politics. This revelation comes in the wake of Trump’s controversial comments about his criminal indictments and mug shot potentially appealing to Black voters. The White House condemned these comments as racist, highlighting the sensitive nature of race relations in U.S. politics.
Image via Shutterstock
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