As AI Political Deepfakes Go Viral, Lawmakers Struggle to Keep up -- 2 States’ Laws Show Limits of What They Can Do
Most states require AI disclosures, but Maryland, Minnesota and Texas ban some deceptive deepfakes outright as political ads using AI surge in 2026.
- The Wesleyan Media Project identified at least 164 political ads using AI during the 2026 election cycle, accounting for nearly $80 million in spending. With 31 states now enacting election deepfake laws, officials are scrambling to regulate deceptive content.
- Among 31 states with deepfake laws, 28 mandate disclosure, while Maryland, Minnesota, and Texas prohibit specific deepfakes entirely, even with AI labels. Most states adopted these regulations in 2024 or later as election season intensified.
- Louisiana requires AI warnings on ads but excludes federal candidates from protection, while Maryland's May 2026 law prohibits certain deepfakes even when labeled. Violators in Louisiana face fines up to $2,000 for damaging a candidate's reputation or deceiving voters.
- A 2025 study involving 7,579 Americans found that warning labels made viewers more skeptical of misleading content but failed to change sharing behavior. Identifying content as AI-generated did little to alter engagement levels, highlighting limits of disclosure-only requirements.
- Legal hurdles persist as a federal judge temporarily barred Montana from enforcing its deepfake law, citing First Amendment concerns raised by a conservative PAC. Gaps in state statutes also leave federal candidates unprotected from AI-generated attacks regardless of disclosure mandates.
13 Articles
13 Articles
kiowacountypress.netKansas ReflectorAs AI political deepfake advertisements go viral, state lawmakers struggle to keep up
Thirty-one states have now enacted laws regulating artificial intelligence deepfakes in political campaigns, though most require only warnings rather than removing false content from circulation.
The Conversation
As AI political deepfakes go viral, lawmakers struggle to keep up – 2 states’ laws show limits of what they can do
Most states require warnings on AI-generated political ads, but studies show these disclosures do little to alter people’s willingness to share the content. Most states have legislated election deepfakes by requiring a warning 28 states require disclosures on the media
As AI political deepfakes go viral, lawmakers struggle to keep up -- 2 states’ laws show limits of what they can do
Most states require warnings on AI-generated political ads, but studies show these disclosures do little to alter people's willingness to share.
The Conversation: As AI political deepfakes go viral, lawmakers struggle to keep up – 2 states’ laws show limits of what they can do
The Conversation: As AI political deepfakes go viral, lawmakers struggle to keep up – 2 states’ laws show limits of what they can do. “I am an AI policy scholar at the University of Denver, where we use an AI policy tracker to monitor bills and laws across the U.S. With 2026 midterm elections approaching, the important question for voters is what protection a deepfake law actually provides, and I examine two state laws – in Louisiana and Marylan…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
