Adam Schiff Warns AI-Generated Political Ads Are Making It Harder to Know What’s Real Ahead of Midterm Elections: 'Congress Can't Afford to Sit on the Sidelines'
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) warned that deceptive artificial intelligence-generated political advertisements could mislead voters and interfere with elections, urging Congress to address the growing threat through legislation.
Schiff Sounds Alarm Over Fraudulent AI Political Ads
On Wednesday, in a post on X, Schiff said fraudulent AI-generated political ads were making it increasingly difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.
"Fraudulent AI-generated political ads are muddying the waters of what’s real and what’s not," he wrote.
He added, "And they don’t seem to be going away any time soon. Congress can’t afford to sit on the sidelines."
AI Ads Target Election Misinformation
Schiff also shared a clip from Aaron Sorkin’s 2026 film "The Social Reckoning," which dramatizes the potential impact of deceptive digital content on elections. The clip depicts a fabricated message falsely claiming an election date had changed in targeted ZIP codes to discourage voting.
"If you haven’t seen it yet, that’s from a film called The Social Reckoning," Schiff said in the clip.
He acknowledged that online misinformation has misled voters for years but warned that AI-generated video advertisements have created a new challenge.
"But now there’s a new frontier with AI ads pushing out fake and fraudulent video," he said.
Schiff Reintroduced AI Ads Act
In July, Schiff and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) reintroduced the AI Ads Act to clarify that existing federal prohibitions against fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority and fraudulent solicitation of funds apply to AI-generated content.
Schiff warned that such ads threatened election integrity by blurring the line between fact and fiction.
Lawmakers Push For AI Regulation
Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law requiring advertisers to disclose when AI-generated performers appeared in covered advertisements.
Khanna reportedly prepared to introduce the Human Control Over AI Act to establish safety standards and oversight for advanced AI models.
Previously, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) introduced the Aging With AI Act to study how AI tools affected older adults, including the potential risks of scams and fraud.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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