AI Political Ads Total $80 Million in Midterms

Researchers have tracked approximately $80 million in spending on nearly 170 distinct political advertisements utilizing artificial intelligence during the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle. This marks the first election where AI-generated political ads are a regular feature on television and social media. The Wesleyan Media Project, which has studied political advertising since 2010, compiled this data using media reports, student coders, and AdImpact, a firm specializing in tracking political ad expenditures. The findings reveal a diverse application of AI, ranging from hyperrealistic deepfakes to more subtle visual enhancements. A significant disparity was observed in AI adoption, with Republican sponsors, including candidates and interest groups, employing AI at a substantially higher rate than their Democratic counterparts. Furthermore, due to a fragmented landscape of state legislation, many of these AI-generated ads fail to disclose their synthetic origins. Concerns have been voiced by politicians and watchdog organizations regarding the potential for generative AI to create deepfakes—synthetic videos depicting individuals in fabricated actions—that could mislead voters. The researchers identified several ads featuring hyperrealistic deepfakes of prominent politicians such as Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in particular, was a frequent subject in Republican advertisements, appearing in at least five such ads. Specific examples of deepfakes include an ad showing a Republican Senate candidate from Louisiana driving a school bus filled with undocumented immigrants, a Republican gubernatorial candidate from South Carolina walking with drag queens, and an ad depicting Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, and Mike Pence carrying pitchforks on the White House lawn. Beyond politicians, non-political figures were also targeted, such as a fabricated Dr. Anthony Fauci shown at a state fair with a large syringe. The study also noted the use of AI to generate artificial crowds or constituents in several advertisements. In some instances, AI was employed to enhance visual elements rather than create entirely new content. The researchers' analysis indicates that the use of AI in political advertising is multifaceted, encompassing both deceptive deepfakes and more nuanced visual manipulations, with a clear partisan leaning in its adoption and a notable lack of transparency regarding its use.