Dear MoveOn member,
Just last week, Twitter/X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a digitally manipulated deepfake video about Vice President Kamala Harris that has since been viewed more than 150,000,000 times.1
Deepfakes are a photo or video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else, typically—but not always—used maliciously or to spread false information. And while many claim this video from Musk is parody, there will be people who circulate the video thinking the audio is real.
This is one of the most prominent political deepfakes to circulate so far, and it involves misleading information about a major presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 elections. Enough is enough. We need to fully regulate deepfakes on social media platforms overall, but especially when it comes to candidates before the 2024 elections in November. Sign the petition if you agree.
Deepfake technology is spreading with the help of generative artificial intelligence (AI), and with little regulation from the federal government, not just in the U.S. but around the world.2 In the United States, lawmakers are finally attempting to tackle the issue, which has become exponentially worse due to AI tools that make creating this content much easier.
This isn't impossible, and there's precedent to change this. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently just co-sponsored a deepfake bill that passed unanimously in the Senate.3 The Federal Elections Committee (FEC) unanimously voted to move forward to regulate artificial intelligence and deepfakes in campaign advertising, but that's stalled.4 It's clear that there needs to be more comprehensive regulations around deepfakes and AI on social media specifically. Will you sign the petition?
Now, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering a first-of-its-kind rule that would require an advertisement to disclose if it's manipulated by artificial intelligence.5 This is a crucial, necessary first step to regulating artificial intelligence on social media, and it needs to take effect before the election in November.
Deepfakes pose a significant threat to democracy as we know it. It's the job of federal agencies to protect people and provide the facts to make sure our democracy and elections remain untainted from exactly these kinds of threats.
This year is a massive elections year that includes House races, Senate races, and the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. A deceptive, AI-generated deepfake could swing these pivotal races—or an onslaught of deepfakes could leave voters completely at a loss as to what's real and what's not. For the public to continue to trust and believe in democratic institutions, this cannot happen.
The integrity of our elections is at stake. We cannot assume people will try to speak to the American people authentically and honestly, because we've already been at the mercy of those who would challenge and not accept election results that are not in their favor. The FEC and the FCC need to take substantial action and ban deepfakes on social media to counteract bad actors before our nation's consequential elections in November this year.
Thanks for all you do.
–Nakia, Chris, Madeleine, Melissa, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Elon Musk made a Kamala Harris deepfake ad go viral, sparking a debate about parody and free speech," NBC News, August 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/195620?t=7&akid=400647%2E40999114%2EqnadoV
2. "How deepfakes could upend the 2024 elections," Politico, July 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/195621?t=9&akid=400647%2E40999114%2EqnadoV
3. "The Defiance Act passes in the Senate, potentially allowing deepfake victims to sue over nonconsensual images," NBC News, July 24, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/195622?t=11&akid=400647%2E40999114%2EqnadoV
4. "FEC moves toward potentially regulating AI deepfakes in campaign ads," PBS, August 10, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/195623?t=13&akid=400647%2E40999114%2EqnadoV
5. "Regulators consider first federal rule on AI-created political ads," NBC News, July 29, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/195624?t=15&akid=400647%2E40999114%2EqnadoV
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