Goldman spox posts, deletes AI video of Brad Lander, Mamdani at Knicks parade - New York Daily News

On June 21, 2024, a spokesman for Representative Dan Goldman removed an artificial intelligence-created video from social media that depicted congressional primary opponent Brad Lander dancing on a float during a Knicks ticker-tape parade. The clip, titled 'Boogie on, Brad,' featured a manipulated version of Lander and was intended to highlight the opponent's alleged use of spliced debate footage in his own campaign advertisements.

What happened

Simone Kanter, a Goldman aide, initially posted the AI-generated video as a political maneuver to criticize Lander’s campaign tactics. Kanter defended the post for several hours, claiming it was intended to demonstrate how Lander supposedly doctors videos of his political opponents. However, the post was eventually deleted after it failed to gain the intended traction and faced public criticism. Kanter later acknowledged the error, stating that the joke missed the mark and failed to convey its intended message.

Lander, a former city councilman and comptroller, responded to the incident by thanking the Goldman campaign for highlighting his alliance with Mayor Mamdani and his dancing skills. The video attempted to mock the political relationship between Lander and Mamdani, but the effort was viewed as ineffective given that Mamdani had previously won the district by a significant margin. While Lander did attend the actual parade for the Knicks, the video remains a notable example of the increasing use of generative AI in political messaging and the subsequent controversy such content can trigger.