Minnesota Deepfake Campaign Ad Raises Questions Over State AI Election Laws

U.S. election campaigns and political action committees are projected to spend a record $10 billion on advertising this cycle, with some of that spending going toward AI-generated deepfakes that depict candidates saying or doing things they did not do. According to Cointelegraph, at least 15 AI-generated campaign ads have run since November, and transparency advocates say such ads—illegal in some states—could undermine election integrity. In Minnesota, Lt. Governor Penny Flanagan said on June 3 that voters “might see a TV ad” featuring something that “kind of looks like me,” referring to an ad run by a PAC backing her opponent in the Senate primary race, US Representative Angie Craig. The ad shows Flanagan atop a pile of cash and criticizes her alleged ties to special interest groups; Flanagan said the PAC used an AI deepfake to mislead voters and called it “disgusting,” adding that her campaign is consulting lawyers. Minnesota passed a 2023 law banning the wide sharing of a deepfake within 90 days of an election when the distributor knew or should have known it was a deepfake made without consent and acted with intent to harm a candidate’s reputation to influence an election; because the ad ran after the DFL nominated Flanagan, it may not have violated the law. State Rep. Maye Quade said it violated the law’s spirit, while 40 DFL legislators signed a letter condemning AI deepfakes in campaign materials. AI rules for campaign ads are largely set at the state level, with 28 states having disclosure laws and two states prohibiting AI use in certain ways; overall, about 30 states have laws addressing AI in elections, mostly focused on disclosure and often carrying civil penalties. The Federal Elections Commission told Cointelegraph its rules require clear disclaimers on certain campaign ads and prohibit “fraudulent misrepresentation,” and it said the statutory ban is technology-neutral and applies to AI-assisted media. Public Citizen petitioned the FEC in 2023 to create AI-specific rules, but the commission decided not to initiate rulemaking. At the federal legislative level, the REAL Political Advertisements Act introduced in 2023 by Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Yvette Clarke did not pass. Nearly one year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law; the final version narrowly avoided including a 10-year ban on state and local AI regulation. On June 4, Democrat Lori Trahan and Republican Jay Obernolte introduced a bill that would bar states from passing laws “targeting artificial intelligence model development,” which the ACLU said could cover privacy, antidiscrimination, and AI safety laws; the ACLU also noted the earlier 10-year ban was removed from the Senate file in a 99-1 vote.