The Republican Nominee for New York Governor Made a…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman faces a legal complaint after posting an AI-generated campaign video depicting his political opponents
- Incident date
- Sep 2026
- Target
- Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani
In September 2026, Republican New York gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman published an AI-generated video featuring likenesses of Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The video depicts the two politicians gardening and riding bicycles while suggesting they are colluding on state policy, prompting a formal complaint from the New York State Democratic Party.
What happened
The video, posted by Blakeman’s campaign, portrays Hochul and Mamdani in a series of scenarios intended to mock their approach to the cost-of-living crisis. Following the release, the New York State Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Board of Elections, alleging that the content violated state law regarding political communications. New York law requires that any "materially deceptive" media, including AI-generated content, must include a disclosure stating, "This (image, video, or audio) has been manipulated."
Blakeman has defended the video, characterizing it as satire and humor, which are exceptions under the current statute. He stated that political satire has been a long-standing tradition in the country and claimed that voters find the content humorous. In response to the incident, Hochul’s campaign criticized the use of AI, while emphasizing their focus on Blakeman’s past policy record. This incident follows a similar instance in 2025 where a campaign video involving Mamdani was released with an AI disclosure label. The legal dispute highlights ongoing tensions regarding the regulation of synthetic media in political campaigns, with Governor Hochul having previously expressed support for banning AI-generated depictions of candidates within 90 days of an election.