Wisconsin U.S. Representative Derrick Van Orden is currently running for the 3rd Congressional District in the state against Democrat Rebecca Cooke and has recently used an AI video to attack her. The move did not sit well with Wisconsin residents, as many believed that Van Orden could be breaking the law by doing so.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Van Orden recently published an AI deepfake video featuring Cooke saying that it does not matter what “peasants think,” “that she’s the anointed candidate,” and urging people to vote for her.
The main controversy surrounding the video, which was reportedly made using Grok, is that a 2024 law forbids candidates from using political campaign ads made with the help of AI without clearly disclosing this. Van Orden’s social media post was unpaid, and it displayed “Made with Grok Imagine” beneath the image, but it arguably does not make it very clear that it’s AI. Commenting on the case, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin said the video, “while not technically illegal, flouts the intent of the state law.”
Wisconsin Residents Criticize Van Orden
The AI video drew backlash against Van Orden on Reddit’s r/Wisconsin, including because of the way it was portrayed by the media outlet. One user said: “When republicans break the law, media refers to it as ‘testing the law’s limits.’” Someone else responded: “He isn’t testing the limit, he is over it, as usual and will feel no consequences.”
Others slammed the Republican candidate: “Such a revolting candidate, truly trash of the earth level human.” Some people even urged Democratic voters to strike back: “Someone should make a deep fake of him getting drunk, crashing his motorcycle in a field, then [expletive] a donkey. I am pretty sure I’ve heard that happened so it’s just a recreation.”
Some folks also deemed the use of AI deepfakes proof that the candidate had a weak record: “It’s telling that he’s not running on his legislative record.”
Wisconsin will only discover who will get to be the representative of the district in November, but until then, it seems that all the opposition can do is try to beat the Republican by voting. As one user said: “Oust Orden. Vote Rebecca Cooke. We need serious folk to represent us.”
