A video of a Florida governor candidate was AI slop. People spread it anyway. - Poynter

A manipulated video circulated on X appearing to show U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a candidate in the Florida gubernatorial race, advocating for insider trading. The video was shared by politicians and other X users, gaining thousands of shares.

What happened

The deepfake video made it seem as though Donalds said insider trading should be allowed for members of Congress and that he wanted to capitalize on sensitive government information to acquire luxury items. The original video was altered from a real CBN News interview. A Donalds spokesperson confirmed the video was manipulated with artificial intelligence. The initial posting of the deepfake originated from an X account known for posting deepfakes of Donalds. Despite comments pointing out the video's AI origins, some users who shared it defended its authenticity, with one user replying with sarcasm to the AI claims.