New York Attorney General Letitia James released a guide, called “Protecting New Yorkers from AI-Generated Election Misinformation,” to help identify and report misinformation generated by artificial intelligence (AI) about the upcoming November elections. Artificial intelligence tools can be used to create fake or misleading videos, images, or audio that impersonate people or candidates and spread misinformation to try to impact voters. Fake content created by artificial intelligence can be used to cause confusion and, when spread rapidly and widely through social media platforms, can have a profound impact on voters’ actions. The guide released today by Attorney General James offers New Yorkers tips on how to spot fake content, report it, and seek accurate information about the elections.
“New Yorkers deserve to be well-informed, not misinformed, about their choices for the upcoming November elections,” James said. “AI-created deepfakes that spread lies about candidates, policy proposals, and even where New Yorkers can access the polls all represent a dangerous threat to democracy. The guide my office created will be a useful resource to help voters better identify AI-generated misinformation, and to empower them to arrive at the polls with accurate information about the elections and the candidate they wish to support. I urge New Yorkers to be more careful about the sources they use and the information they consume about the elections.”
The guide includes examples of how AI-generated materials can be used by bad actors to spread misinformation and sow doubt into the electoral process. The guide also includes tips on how to be vigilant against AI-generated deepfakes, and how to avoid spreading misinformation through social media. AI tools can be used by bad actors to create real-looking photographs, videos, or audio recordings of a person without their knowledge or consent. This fake content, known as deepfakes, can appear to show someone making statements that they never made, or taking actions that they never did. Deepfakes may aim to deceive voters about candidates, eligibility to vote, and where, when, or how to vote. For example, deepfakes might circulate fake audio clips using someone’s real voice instructing people to take certain actions or sharing misleading information.
To protect New Yorkers from AI-generated misinformation related to the elections, James urges New Yorkers to:
- consult New York state and local boards of elections for information and questions about where, when, or how to vote, as well as your eligibility to vote. The OAG will operate an Election Protection Hotline, which voters can contact to ask questions and file complaints during the voting period.
- not rely on chatbots to answer questions about elections or voting
- report any social media content to the platform that might be a deepfake
- verify with official sources any information about elections or voting from unofficial sources and encourage others to do the same
- be skeptical of images, audio, and video circulating online about the elections, candidates, or their campaigns. If anyone sees emotionally charged, sensational, and surprising content, they should be especially cautious and remember that it may be fake.
- not share content that they suspect may be fake unless they can verify that it is real
Deepfakes can leave clues showing they are fake, but the technology is getting better all the time and fakes are harder to spot, James’ office said. The absence of clues is not a guarantee that the content is real. Although sometimes there are disclosures that content is AI-generated, often AI-generated content is not labeled as such. There are tools for detecting AI-generated content, but these are not always accurate.
If anyone receives a phone call with information about voting or elections, they should be mindful that the information may be inaccurate or fake and remember to verify information with official sources.
James urges New Yorkers seeing misleading or inaccurate information about the elections, particularly misinformation concerning the time, place and manner of voting, to contact her office by filing an online complaint. When submitting the complaint form, please select “Other” and enter “Election Misinformation” for the complaint topic, and include a copy of the misleading or inaccurate content.