Jamie Ager deepfake video — Oct 2026

Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager has publicly condemned a political attack ad that utilized generative AI to create a false narrative regarding his associations. The advertisement, which was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee and approved by Republican candidate Jennifer Balkcom, features imagery of Ager at a barn dance alongside individuals he has never met.

What happened

The attack ad uses AI-generated content to depict Ager in a social setting with a group of Asheville drag queens and a person wearing a pup mask. The video concludes with a voiceover stating that while Ager speaks like a typical candidate on television, he is "dancing with they/them," a framing intended to target his relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

In a video statement, Ager labeled the advertisement as "100% fake AI-generated" lies, arguing that the campaign resorted to these tactics due to a lack of substantive policy positions. One of the individuals featured in the AI-generated footage, an Asheville-based drag queen named Nova, confirmed that she has never met Ager nor attended the event depicted in the ad. Nova has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Balkcom campaign. Legal experts have noted that if the campaign fails to address the cease-and-desist order, there may be grounds for a lawsuit based on the misappropriation of the individuals' likenesses. The Balkcom campaign has not provided a comment regarding the allegations.