PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – Mudslinging between two congressional candidates in the race to replace Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik reached new heights Wednesday after the release of another AI campaign video.
Republican Anthony Constantino released the video Sunday. It depicts his opponent, Democratic congressional candidate Blake Gendebien, saying things Gendebien never said. The person in the ad looks and sounds just like Gendebien, but it was generated by artificial intelligence.
“My initial response was, boy, Anthony has nothing to run on, so he’s putting words in my mouth,” Gendebien said.
Constantino says he created the video in response to an AI video Gendebien’s campaign generated last year attacking Congresswoman Stefanik.
“We made it quite a while ago after Blake Gendebien made a sexist video attacking Congresswoman Stefanik, enlarging her feminine attributes. I saw that, and I said disgusting,” Constantino said.
Even though he did it first, Gendebien claims his use of AI doesn’t go as far as Constantino’s. “Ours was an obvious satire and lighthearted parody,” Gendebien said.
Despite Gendebien’s frustration, SUNY Plattsburgh professor of political science Harvey Schantz says AI campaign videos like this are fair game in New York. “Under New York state election law, Constantino has fulfilled his requirements by clearly stating on the top of the ad that this was a generated ad,” Schantz said.
Which means for now, the First Amendment continues to prevail in the age of the hyper-realistic deepfake.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.