Hilleary, Garrett turn to deepfake ads in 6th…

In the race for Tennessee's 6th Congressional District, Republican candidates Van Hilleary and Johnny Garrett have adopted the use of deepfake technology in their campaign advertisements. Despite the recent enactment of the Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act on July 1, which requires disclosures for manipulated political content, the law applies only to state campaigns and not federal ones, leaving these ads without required disclaimers.

What happened

Hilleary’s advertisements utilized artificial videos to depict himself posing with President Donald Trump, despite the president not having issued an endorsement in the race. Another Hilleary ad featured deepfake footage of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani walking through city rubble to support claims that Hilleary would stop socialists and communists. Hilleary also targeted Garrett with artificial portrayals, including images of Garrett standing with drag queens, holding a framed photograph of Kamala Harris, and celebrating at a pride festival, intended to challenge his conservative credentials.

In response, Garrett released an advertisement featuring a deepfake of Hilleary driving a campaign-branded van through Washington, D.C., before the vehicle sinks into a swamp. Garrett’s ad further criticized Hilleary’s past voting record and his professional history with the law firm Dentons LLP, attempting to link his opponent to pro-amnesty advocacy groups. While Garrett previously voted in favor of the Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act, both candidates bypassed the spirit of the legislation by omitting disclosures in their federal campaign materials.