Dem Candidate Sends “Cease and Desist” Order to Republican Over Deepfake Ads

This week, Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic candidate for a House of Representatives race in western Wisconsin, sent a “cease and desist” order to her Republican opponent, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, due to his constant use of artificial intelligence (AI) generated “deepfakes” featuring her likeness.

The ads depict Cooke in fictional situations, including a conversation with former President Joe Biden in which he says that he plans to “take advantage of as much corruption as possible.”

Cooke posted a copy of the letter sent to Van Orden on social media, stating that “he’s been using AI to put words in my mouth because he has nothing else to run on.”

“These defamatory, misleading videos undermine our democratic process and are the exact kind of mudslinging voters are tired of,” Cooke added.

A letter sent by Elias Law Group on behalf of Cooke condemns Van Orden’s actions further, noting that, “at this fulcrum in American history, communities are fighting against the AI data centers that have been crammed down their throats.” The letter also states that Wisconsin law prohibits using deepfake videos in political messaging, but that Van Orden’s campaign is running online ads through a loophole that “does not apply to federal candidates.”

“You are violating the spirit of the law,” the letter adds.

In response to the letter, Van Orden shared yet another AI-generated video. Though the post did not depict Cooke directly, the statement made by the main character — a duck — was clearly intended to be a portrayal of her complaining about his false ads.

The race between Cooke and Van Orden is hotly contested, one of many that could feature a “flip” in favor of Democrats in this year’s midterm election. Polls have consistently shown Cooke slightly ahead of Van Orden, with a survey in June revealing she was four points ahead of him at that time.

Beyond being a loyalist of President Donald Trump, Van Orden has a troubling history. In a book he published in 2015, he bragged about exposing an unwilling patient’s testicles to women he was training as a military medic. In 2021, he harassed a teenage worker at a library in his district over the display of LGBTQ books, with that employee describing him as “aggressive” and “loud,” engaging in “full-on shouting” as he shoved books around the display.

Notably, Van Orden was among hundreds present at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Although there isn’t evidence that he engaged in acts of violence that day, Van Orden was there in support of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and has continued to peddle lies about fraud in that year’s race. The Republican lawmaker has also lied about his presence on the building’s grounds that day.

Van Orden is not alone in promoting AI deepfakes to attack his opponents, as myriad conservative candidates have done so this election cycle. Ads by these politicians have included falsely depicting candidates they’re running against as driving undocumented immigrants to vote, grabbing bags of money, and holding hands with other politicians to suggest they were in a romantic “throuple.”

Critics have decried these types of ads as “slopaganda,” a combination of the terms “AI slop” and “propaganda.” Experts have warned that these types of ads could become more commonplace in future political races.