Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has spoken out against billionaire Elon Musk after he shared a video containing doctored or fake audio of Harris. The video, which was originally posted by a separate account labeled as a parody, shows a voice falsely purporting to be Harris describing herself as the 'ultimate DEI hire.'
Musk re-shared the video with his massive following of over 190 million on Friday, commenting, 'This is amazing.' The video quickly gained traction, amassing over 73 million views by Saturday morning.
In response, a spokesperson for Harris' campaign, Mia Ehrenberg, stated, 'We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity, and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.'
An AI detection tool analyzed the fake audio on Saturday and found 'substantial evidence' that the voice had been generated using AI technology.
Republicans have recently used the term 'DEI' to criticize Harris, insinuating that she attained her position based solely on her race and gender. This tactic has been condemned by critics as a racist dog whistle, with Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost denouncing it as a 'racial slur.'
The rise of AI-generated content has raised concerns about potential election interference. In response, more than a dozen states, led by both Republicans and Democrats, have enacted laws to regulate deepfakes – realistic fake audio and video created using AI – in political campaigns. These efforts aim to combat misinformation and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process, following warnings from the Department of Homeland Security about the deceptive nature of deepfakes.
