The ad, likely the first of its kind, draws attention to the lack of laws requiring disclaimers in political ads.
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina has officially entered a new frontier in political advertising: artificial intelligence.
What may be the state’s first fully AI-generated ad aired late Tuesday, parodying Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s campaign for governor.
WCNC Charlotte spoke with Todd Stiefel, leader of the political action committee known as Americans for Prosparody, which produced the ad.
“This is a parody of Mark Robinson’s extremism and of AI itself,” Stifel said.
Although the images and audio are fake, Stifel says that everything the AI Robinson claims is something the real Robinson has previously posted or said.
The ad did not air on WCNC Charlotte, but it can be seen in its entirety on YouTube, and the description includes links to all of the ad’s source material.
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Disclaimers are displayed in the bottom left throughout the video, and a full disclaimer title screen appears at the beginning, letting viewers know it is artificially generated.
“These are tools that anyone can use, and it’s great that we have this new technology,” Stifel said. “What scares me a little bit is if it gets used by bad actors. If we don’t include a disclaimer, it could be used to spread misinformation.”
Republican Rep. Kevin Crutchfield, who represents parts of Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the state Legislature, knows this side of AI personally: He said he was the target of deepfakes during his campaign.
“I’ve never met Donald Trump. He doesn’t know who I am. And he was using Donald Trump’s voice to say some not-so-favourable things about me and my campaign,” Rep. Crutchfield said. “I had no way to fight back against that.”
To fight back, he sponsored House Bill 1072, which aims to require such disclaimers on AI-based political ads. The bill has passed the North Carolina House of Representatives but still needs Senate approval.
Stifel said he supports such legislation.
“This is a new technology. It’s here and it’s not going away. It should be used to uncover the truth. It shouldn’t be banned in general, but abusive use should be prohibited,” Stifel said.
The ad was created before a recent CNN investigation, which accused Robinson of making racist and sexual comments to adults before he was elected.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
