Trump’s post of fake Taylor Swift endorsement is his latest embrace of AI-generated images
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is active on his social accounts as Democrats gather in Chicago for their party convention, but some of his posts have little to do with reality.
Beyond the Democratic National Conventionhe posted a fake photo of someone who looks like Vice President Kamala Harris giving a speech at what appears to be a communist rally in Chicago, with an image of a red banner with a communist symbol. That followed his repost of a fake video of himself dancing next to billionaire Elon Musk, one of his most outspoken supporters.
Just before the convention started, he reposted a photo of Taylor Swift in an Uncle Sam outfit and accepted her support for his campaign, which she had never given.
They’re the latest examples of Trump promoting images produced by artificial intelligence tools to attack his opponents or create illusions of support around his own campaign. It’s part of a long-standing strategy in which Trump amplifies messages from those who support everything from QAnon to those who deny the results of a fair election to score political points and appease his base by promoting alternative realities.
Some of the images and videos Trump has shared are cartoonish or clearly fake. Still, the rise of AI-generated content on political social media has raised concerns among experts who say it could be used to spread more insidious and believable disinformation. As fake images, videos and audio clips created by generative AI models begin to flood social media, they also risk undermining people’s trust in what they see and hear.
“The AI-generated deepfakes of Taylor Swift are yet another example of the power of AI to create misinformation that misleads and deceives voters,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-chair of Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group that has pushed for legislation to regulate AI. “The potential harm to our society that could result from such misinformation, including the abuse of our elections, is far-reaching and enormously damaging.”
One AI-generated image in Trump’s Truth Social post, shared Sunday, showed women wearing “Swifties for Trump” shirts, a reference to the artist’s devoted fans. The fake image, which showed Swift dressed as Uncle Sam, included the caption: “Taylor wants YOU to VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP.” In his repost of the image, Trump added: “I accept!”
One of the images Trump shared included a small satirical label, but he did not indicate whether he meant his post as a joke.
Swift, who is still on a world tour and has a show in London on Tuesday night, has not made an endorsement in this year’s U.S. presidential race. Her representative did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment.
For Republicans outside Trump’s sphere of influence, the focus on someone like Swift — one of the most talked-about artists in the world — is mostly about generating attention for Trump, while most of the attention is on Harris and the Democrats.
“This is how he and the campaign can take back control of the news cycle,” said Doug Heye, a longtime Republican spokesman and operative. “I hate to say it, but I think we all know that if you want to be talked about, Taylor Swift is a great way to do it.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to questions about Trump’s use of artificial intelligence-generated images.
Trump supporters regularly post on social media using AI-generated images, some of which are shared by the former president.
Before Trump shared the fake Swift images, his supporters had been creating and posting their own AI-generated videos and images of the pop star that appeared to support Trump. They also shared numerous images of Harris dressed as a communist leader or addressing a Soviet audience.
Political operatives have long worried about the implications of the rise of artificial intelligence for elections.
Some members of Congress have pushed for legislation to regulate the use of AI-generated images in politics, but no legislation to do so has nearly passed. Federal Communications Commission has proposed requiring political advertisers to limit their use of artificial intelligence in television and radio advertisements, but such a rule would not affect social media platforms.
While various social media companies have policies in place to label AI-generated content, they are not always enforced. Misleading and lifelike images of both Trump and Harris have been viewed millions of times across platforms, with some users unaware that what they are seeing is fake.
Given her influence and millions of fans, Swift has often become a trending political topic during election years.
In 2020 she is supported President Joe Bidenwho wrote a month before the election that she would cheer on then-vice presidential candidate Harris, this year’s Democratic nominee, in her debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence. She was also openly critical of Trump ahead of the 2020 election, saying he had fanned “the fires of white supremacy and racism.”
Though she has remained on the sidelines so far this year, she has not gone unnoticed by leading conservatives who are concerned about Swift’s support for the Democratic presidential candidate.
Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro earlier this year warned Swift doesn’t want to “get involved in politics.” Fox News’ Sean Hannity encouraged her to “think twice” about supporting Biden when he ran for re-election. And Vivek Ramaswamy, a former GOP presidential candidate and outspoken Trump supporter, called Swift and her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce are “an artificially perpetuated cultural couple” who could make “a major presidential endorsement” this fall.
Some of her supporters have responded to Trump’s posts by taking to social media and declaring their intentions to vote for the former president. Trump’s campaign is seizing on that support.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung did not address the use of fake images in response to questions, but called “Swifties for Trump” a “huge movement that is growing every day.”
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Swenson reported from New York.
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