In brief
AI‑generated political ads have surged to at least 220 pieces worth more than $137 million during a single month, a sharp rise from the $50,000 spate in 2024, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. The ads often lack disclosure and feature provocative imagery that could mislead voters. A separate report notes that AI chatbots are also disseminating Russian propaganda and misleading voter information.
Xinhua reported on Nov. 2 that AI‑driven disinformation is flooding social media feeds as the United States heads toward its Nov. 3 midterm elections.
During October, the Wesleyan Media Project identified 220 AI‑generated political advertisements valued at over $137 million USD—a dramatic jump from the roughly $50,000 spent on such ads during the 2024 election cycle, and likely an underestimate given detection challenges.
Many of these advertisements carry no disclosure that AI was used, raising concerns that voters could be misled and election integrity could be undermined, analysts warned.
Examples cited include a Republican gubernatorial candidate clutching Hillary Clinton with the slogan "Clinton Lover. Trump Hater," a Democratic Senate candidate showing cards that read "Death to America" and "Celebrate 9/11," and a Republican primary candidate hosting a party with Iranian leaders brandishing scimitars at the Star of David.
Frances Haugen
"You can run an information operation now with quality that was impossible in 2016 for super, super cheap," she said. She added that content moderation rules can be circumvented by fine‑tuning posts, allowing some to slip through.
A survey by the American Association of Political Consultants Foundation found that only 1 percent of respondents consider AI their most credible source of election information, yet one in five voters plans to use AI to investigate a race on their ballot, and twice that proportion has already received election details via an AI search summary.
Accompanying this surge, a cottage industry advising candidates on shaping AI narratives has emerged. The left‑wing group Run for Something launched the CampSight platform to track how AI portrays candidates.
According to the Star, AI chatbots are also "dispensing misleading voter information, misidentifying candidates, and regurgitating Russian propaganda, sowing information chaos ahead of" the midterms.
