AI fuels 'slopaganda' in 2026 US midterms, raising misinformation concerns
World
AI is shaking up the 2026 US midterm elections, with a surge of political ads that use artificial intelligence to create fake but realistic scenarios, sometimes called "slopaganda."
One ad even shows Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in situations that never actually happened, raising worries about how easily voters could be misled.
Most 2026 AI ads lack disclaimers
220 AI-powered ads have already aired this cycle, mostly from Republican campaigns, and spending has topped $137 million.
Surprisingly, only 27% of these ads carried an AI disclaimer.
While some politicians are sounding the alarm about transparency, researchers say these AI ads are more likely to fire up voters than actually change election results.