Vikki Goodwin deepfake video — Oct 2026

Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Vikki Goodwin has filed a formal police report against incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick following the distribution of AI-generated deepfake videos. The incident highlights the growing intersection of political campaigning and synthetic media manipulation.

What happened

Vikki Goodwin, who serves as the Democratic state representative for District 47, filed the report with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. According to her campaign, the filing included an affidavit that specifically referenced two separate deepfake videos posted by Patrick on the social media platform X. These videos depicted Goodwin discussing her political policies, but utilized synthetic audio and visual manipulation to make her appear to say words she never actually spoke. While the posts remained public at the time the report was filed on Saturday, they appeared to have been removed by the following Sunday. The incident underscores the potential for AI-driven disinformation to impact political discourse and the subsequent legal challenges candidates face when their likeness is misappropriated.