Zohran Mamdani AI media incident — Oct 2026

During the 2026 midterm election cycle, political campaigns and PACs spent more than $137 million on advertisements featuring generative AI, frequently using synthetic media to depict candidates in fabricated scenarios. While some campaigns utilized AI for routine production tasks like animating photos, a significant portion of the spending supported deceptive content that lacked mandatory disclosure labels.

What happened

Researchers from the Wesleyan Media Project and AdImpact identified a pattern of synthetic advertisements designed to associate politicians with inflammatory figures or statements. In one instance, a Bruce Blakeman campaign video featured a synthetic depiction of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul appearing together in an advertisement for a fictional product, using their likenesses and voices without an AI disclaimer. Another advertisement from the Make Oklahoma Great Again PAC depicted a Democratic gubernatorial candidate embracing Hillary Clinton to frame the candidate as aligned with her.

Other documented examples included fabricated footage of Abdul El-Sayed laughing at cards containing extremist messages and James Fishback appearing at a gathering alongside Representative Ilhan Omar and Iranian leaders. None of these events occurred. According to the data, approximately 70 percent of the reviewed AI-enhanced advertisements carried no disclosure label, leaving voters unable to distinguish between authentic footage and synthetic fabrications. While roughly half of U.S. states have implemented varying disclosure requirements, the lack of a uniform federal standard and the low cost of AI production have contributed to a significant volume of undisclosed synthetic political messaging.