The Michigan Bureau of Elections is currently investigating a complaint regarding a political advertisement that allegedly violates state requirements for disclosing the use of generative artificial intelligence. Cheree De Golia filed the complaint Tuesday against Michigan Values PAC, a super political action committee, claiming an attack ad targeting Democratic U.S. House candidate Bridget Brink features AI-manipulated footage. The ad portrays Brink as a "hand-picked" ambassador for Donald Trump by superimposing video of her nomination acceptance onto footage of Trump in the Oval Office. De Golia argues this manipulation requires a disclosure under a 2023 Michigan law, which mandates that political ads generated by AI inform viewers of that fact.

Michigan Values PAC denied using AI, asserting that all footage was sourced from C-SPAN. Meanwhile, the Michigan Bureau of Elections acknowledged the investigation but noted that the state's AI disclosure mandate under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act (MCFA) primarily regulates state-level races. Spokesperson Samantha May stated that federal candidate regulations are generally preempted by federal law. However, the text of the statute appears to explicitly include federal candidates, leading the bill's author, state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, to maintain that the intent was for the rules to apply to federal advertisements as well. The bureau has not provided further clarification regarding this conflict with federal jurisdiction.

Beyond the regulatory investigation, Brink’s campaign has formally requested that television stations stop airing the ad, citing image manipulation, misrepresentation of her diplomatic service, and false attribution of statements made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Brink served as ambassador to the Slovak Republic under Trump and was later appointed ambassador to Ukraine by President Joe Biden, resigning in protest of Trump. Her campaign accused the Michigan Values PAC and supporters of primary opponent Matt Maasdam of utilizing AI deepfakes (synthetic media designed to impersonate individuals) to mislead voters. Maasdam’s campaign denied any involvement or coordination with the super PAC, citing federal laws that prohibit such activities. The primary election for the 7th Congressional District is set for August, with the winner moving on to face Rep. Tom Barrett in the November general election.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections is currently investigating a complaint regarding a political advertisement that allegedly violates state requirements for disclosing the use of generative artificial intelligence. Cheree De Golia filed the complaint Tuesday against Michigan Values PAC, a super political action committee, claiming an attack ad targeting Democratic U.S. House candidate Bridget Brink features AI-manipulated footage. The ad portrays Brink as a "hand-picked" ambassador for Donald Trump by superimposing video of her nomination acceptance onto footage of Trump in the Oval Office. De Golia argues this manipulation requires a disclosure under a 2023 Michigan law, which mandates that political ads generated by AI inform viewers of that fact.

Michigan Values PAC denied using AI, asserting that all footage was sourced from C-SPAN. Meanwhile, the Michigan Bureau of Elections acknowledged the investigation but noted that the state's AI disclosure mandate under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act (MCFA) primarily regulates state-level races. Spokesperson Samantha May stated that federal candidate regulations are generally preempted by federal law. However, the text of the statute appears to explicitly include federal candidates, leading the bill's author, state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, to maintain that the intent was for the rules to apply to federal advertisements as well. The bureau has not provided further clarification regarding this conflict with federal jurisdiction.

Beyond the regulatory investigation, Brink’s campaign has formally requested that television stations stop airing the ad, citing image manipulation, misrepresentation of her diplomatic service, and false attribution of statements made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Brink served as ambassador to the Slovak Republic under Trump and was later appointed ambassador to Ukraine by President Joe Biden, resigning in protest of Trump. Her campaign accused the Michigan Values PAC and supporters of primary opponent Matt Maasdam of utilizing AI deepfakes (synthetic media designed to impersonate individuals) to mislead voters. Maasdam’s campaign denied any involvement or coordination with the super PAC, citing federal laws that prohibit such activities. The primary election for the 7th Congressional District is set for August, with the winner moving on to face Rep. Tom Barrett in the November general election.