In the age of deepfakes, Maryland lawmakers push for transparency in political campaigns
TAKOMA PARK, Md. - Can you separate fact from fiction? It’s becoming harder these days with the spread of deepfake videos and artificial intelligence.
Now, state lawmakers in Maryland are considering new legislation to force political campaigns to reveal if they’re using deepfakes or AI in ads.
Computer programs can create videos that are so realistic that it’s hard to know what’s real.
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So, when you apply this to political advertising, deepfake videos can put words in a candidate’s mouth that they never said, and might not agree with.
Montgomery County Delegate Anne Kaiser has written a bill forcing campaigns to clearly label any deepfake material they use.
Kaiser’s staff created a deepfake appearing to show both Donald Trump and Joe Biden endorsing her bill. It's not real, but you could easily think it was.
"Sleepy Joe doesn’t get much right, but even I can agree on Delegate Kaiser’s deepfake bill," the delegate's deepfake video says. "Yeah, Mister Trump is a load of malarky but at least we agree on Delegate Kaiser’s deepfake bill."
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The proposed bill would ban deepfakes, but it would require political candidates and campaigns to register with Maryland’s elections board to disclose if they’re using altered images or audio in campaign ads and literature.
Delegate Kaiser's own deepfake videos show just how much reality can be manipulated.
"I thought ‘ya know what?’ I need to share with everyone a video of President Trump and President Biden telling people they agree on nothing else in this world but on my deepfake video," Kaiser told FOX 5.
She says while her video was fake, this issue is very real – and it’s sparking real cooperation in the Maryland Statehouse. Already, five Democrats and five Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors.