1 hour ago’Completely made up’: Russian AI hijacks real people’s identities to target Dem Senate candidates

Coordinated disinformation videos believed to be generated with artificial intelligence and traced to Russia are reportedly hijacking real people’s identities to smear Democratic Senate candidates in the critical final stretch of midterm voting.

The operations have deployed fabricated allegations against candidates in two high-stakes races, weaponizing the names and photos of unsuspecting private citizens to deceive voters before ballots are tallied.

In Ohio, a deceptive video stylized as a legitimate television newscast targeted Sherrod Brown in his race against incumbent Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. The clip featured photos of former staff members, including former intern Haya Akbik, falsely attributing explosive accusations to her.

“It’s my name, it’s my reputation, making this allegation, and it’s just completely false,” Akbik told The Associated Press, calling the smear appalling.

“And it harms the senator, someone else, in the process. So, it’s just messed up.”

Akbik added that the exploitation of her likeness demonstrates why lawmakers must rein in what she called “AI slop on the internet,” warning that “this is so damaging.”

A similar attack surfaced in Texas aimed at James Talarico, who is challenging Sen. Ken Paxton, R-Texas. That video adopted the format of an intimate, direct-to-camera confessional purportedly from one of Talarico’s former students, but researchers found the testimonial was manipulated using artificial intelligence tools.

“The most powerful people in the world know they can’t beat James Talarico with the truth, so they’re slandering him with AI deepfakes, foreign bots, and conspiracy theories to protect their broken, corrupt political system,” Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said.

Digital forensics experts told the AP the campaign bears unmistakable ties to Storm-1516, a well-known Russian disinformation network that ran sophisticated online influence campaigns during the 2024 presidential election.

Dartmouth College professor Hany Farid, an expert in synthetic media, found the Brown clip was a “fairly low-tech fake,” he told the AP, while the Talarico confessional was likely produced through generative AI, noting that “it is consistent with previous disinformation campaigns released close to Election Day.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.