"Biden Frail, I'm the Candidate"... Musk-Driven AI Manipulation Video Becomes US Election Issue Again

Musk X Posts Deepfake Video of Harris
"Concern Over Belief It Is Real"

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, posted an AI-manipulated video of Kamala Harris, the leading Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President, on his social media (SNS). AP News reported on the 28th (local time) that concerns about AI are growing ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

In the video Musk CEO posted on X (formerly Twitter), Vice President Harris claims, "I, Kamala Harris, became the Democratic candidate because Joe Biden finally revealed his frailty during the debate." She also says, as a woman and a person of color, it is ‘diversity hiring’ and adds, "I know nothing about running the country." The video used elements similar to Harris’s actual political advertisements.

Image source=Captured from Musk CEO X

The original poster of the video stated it was a parody, but Musk CEO did not specify this. Musk recently declared his support for the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump.

AP News reported that after review by two experts, most of the video was generated using AI technology. Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said, "Most people will not believe it is Vice President Harris’s voice, but when words are spoken in her voice, the video becomes much more powerful." Rob Weissman, co-director of Public Citizen, expressed concern, saying, "The quality is not good, but because it fits the existing theme exactly, most people will believe it is real."

AP News pointed out, "Although access to high-quality AI tools has increased, there is a lack of federal measures to regulate their use, leaving it to states and platforms."

Earlier in March, AI-generated fake images of former President Trump being arrested circulated online. AI-manipulated videos also caused controversy during elections in India and T?rkiye.