An AI-generated attack ad targeting Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has been pulled from the air after her attorneys sent a cease-and-desist.
The ad, which appears to be entirely AI-generated, features a woman resembling Blackburn partying with generic pharmaceutical executives. A song plays during the ad featuring the lyrics: “Our pain-killing pills wouldn’t sell, so we paid Sen. Marsha Blackburn to pass our bill.” It continues with "side effects of paying Marsha include an opioid crisis, over 20,000 overdose deaths in Tennessee, billions for Big Pharma, millions for Sen. Blackburn,” referring to Blackburn as the “Queen Pharma Mama.”
A July 27 letter sent to representatives of the American Exceptionalism Institute by Blackburn’s lawyer Brandon J. Smith of Holtzman Vogel calls the ad — which hints at Blackburn’s reported role in making it harder for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to enforce the Controlled Substances Act during the opioid epidemic — “knowingly false,” including “defamatory accusations of bribery and criminal corruption.”
“The advertisement is not merely misleading," reads the letter. "It is a calculated attempt to deceive viewers by accusing Senator Blackburn of quid pro quo corruption without a shred of factual support. We demand that American Exceptionalism Institute immediately cease and desist from sponsoring, disseminating, placing, distributing, or otherwise causing this advertisement to air or be published in any medium.”
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One day after the dated letter, Comcast and Viamedia have pulled the ad from the air, according to a Blackburn spokesperson on Tuesday afternoon. Per ProPublica, the American Exceptionalism Institute is a 501c3 non profit organization based out of Alexandria, Virginia. The dark money group has also been tied to political campaigns in Georgia.
Blackburn’s lawyer sent a July 28 letter to 21st Judicial District Attorney General Stacey Edmonson requesting that her office investigate whether the ad violates the state’s Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act, which was introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law earlier this year. That law requires political advertisements to include a disclaimer if they include “deepfake elements impersonating or depicting a candidate engaging in activity or speech in which the impersonated or depicted candidate did not in fact engage,” with violations resulting in a class-C misdemeanor.
“This matter implicates significant public interests, including the integrity of Tennessee's electoral process and the public's confidence in free and fair elections," reads the July 28 letter. "The deliberate creation and dissemination of what appears to be an AI-generated deepfake depicting a candidate for Governor of Tennessee engaging in bribery represents a direct attack on the electorate's ability to make informed decisions."
“We respectfully request that your office investigate whether the advertisement was generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence; identify the individuals responsible for its creation; obtain the underlying production files, source materials, Al prompts (if any), and metadata; determine whether the Advertisement constitutes a deepfake under Tennessee law; and pursue any criminal charges supported by the evidence.”
Edmonson confirmed to Scene sister publication the Williamson Scene that her office had received the letter, but did not provide any additional statement or details.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Williamson Scene.
