From ‘Harris the Communist’ to ‘Swifties for Trump’: AI-generated images muddy US Presidential Election 2024 | World News – Times of India

Poe’s Law, named after Nathan Poe, argues: “Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humour, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won’t mistake it for the genuine article.” This idea has now become quite mainstream on the internet, suggesting that it’s often impossible to discern a content poster’s intent.In 2017,

Wired

called it the “most important phenomenon” of the year, and it has become even more challenging now with the advent of powerful AI tools that have very few restrictions.
Many AI-generated posts have raised similar concerns, with people arguing that it’s impossible to tell if a video is real or a deepfake. Others have argued that videos, like those showing Harris as a “communist dictator” or Trump and Musk dancing to “Stayin’ Alive,” are obviously fake and intended to be humorous.
Read: Musk goes full MAGA
Here are a few examples:

Harris the Communist

Musk’s post came in response to a weekend campaign tweet from Harris featuring a poster of Donald Trump promising to be a “dictator on day one” if re-elected. Trump made this claim in a December 2023 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. Since then, Trump and his campaign team have attempted to downplay the comment, suggesting it was either a joke or a tactic to provoke the left.

Apparently, Harris’s tweet irritated Musk enough to inspire his deepfake post. He shared the fake image with a caption filled with reality-twisting rhetoric reminiscent of Orwell’s

1984

: “Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one. Can you believe she wears that outfit?”
Elon Musk also shared an image depicting Kamala Harris as a Communist dictator.

Apartheid Clyde

Musk found himself on the receiving end of his own tactics when the hacktivist group Anonymous shared AI-generated images of him in a Nazi uniform, labelling him “Apartheid Clyde,” a reference to his upbringing in South Africa.
They wrote: “Apartheid Clyde in all his glory spreading misinformation—so here we are! Thank Grok! Can you believe Elon wears that outfit??” They posted another image of Musk kissing Donald Trump, with both depicted in Nazi uniforms.

The backlash to Musk’s post wasn’t limited to Anonymous. Others also shared AI-generated images depicting Musk and Trump in both Communist and Nazi uniforms, underscoring the risks of spreading misinformation through manipulated media.

The Trump-Musk Dance Off

Elon Musk was back with another viral social media post, this time sharing an AI-generated video featuring himself and former US President Donald Trump dancing to the Bee Gees’ classic hit “Staying Alive.” The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter), showed the tech mogul and the former president grooving in suits, perfectly synced to the disco anthem. Even Donald Trump posted the video.

Musk captioned the video with a playful remark, “Haters will say this is AI,” acknowledging the artificial nature of the video while playfully poking fun at his critics. The post quickly gained traction among Musk’s followers, who enjoyed the unexpected blend of advanced AI technology and retro pop culture. Trump also shared the video, amplifying its reach and adding his own commentary, which further fuelled its viral spread. One user, Sophie, humorously responded, “This is real. I was there when they filmed it.” Musk, known for his witty online banter, replied, “Your cinematography was ??,” keeping the exchange light and entertaining.

Swifties for Trump

Former President Donald Trump shared AI-generated images of women wearing “Swifties for Trump” t-shirts on his Truth Social account, including a satirical post claiming that Taylor Swift fans were turning to Trump after security concerns forced the cancellation of her Vienna concerts earlier this month. Trump captioned the post “I accept!” and shared screenshots of four posts showing women wearing “Swifties for Trump” t-shirts, as well as a fabricated image of Taylor Swift with the caption, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”

Swift has not endorsed a presidential candidate in this election but supported President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020. She has previously criticised Trump, particularly for his comments during the Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. One of the posts Trump included, which showed several women wearing “Swifties for Trump” t-shirts in various colours, was clearly labelled as satire. The creator of that post said it was clearly labelled and that they believed the Republican candidate understood “the joke.”
Code Red in US: Comrade Kamala v Traitor Trump

Will AI influence elections?

Many experts have raised concerns about the misuse of AI ahead of the 2024 US Presidential Elections. However, Meta’s Adversarial Threat Report suggests that AI-powered tactics will only provide incremental gains in content generation for malicious actors.
Similarly, the UK’s Alan Turing Institute found minimal evidence of significant AI interference across 100 elections since 2023. According to an analysis published in MIT Technology Review, nearly half of the world’s population is voting in elections this year, and there’s growing concern over the role of AI in these democratic processes. While many experts warn that AI poses a new threat to election integrity, the evidence so far suggests these fears might be exaggerated. Despite concerns, initial reports indicate that the anticipated influence of AI on elections has not materialised to the extent predicted. The article concludes that while concerns about AI’s potential to influence elections are valid, they should not distract from other critical threats to democracy, such as voter suppression, attacks on election officials, and restrictions on freedoms. Blaming technology for these broader problems can divert attention from more fundamental issues affecting democratic institutions.