AI is playing the role of “Anti-Hero” this election season

Unlike what you may have recently seen on social media, Taylor Swift didn’t endorse former President Trump earlier this month; Ryan Reynolds wasn’t photographed wearing a pro-Kamala Harris shirt; and Trump wasn’t captured on camera planning his own assassination attempt with the man who shot him.

• These false claims and dozens of others have gone viral in recent weeks thanks to AI-enhanced tools, according to a newly launched database from researchers at the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education group.

More details: The latest and most visible example of this trend emerged in mid-August, when Trump shared a collection of pictures on his Truth Social account showing Taylor Swift fans in “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts, along with a graphic of the pop star endorsing his candidacy. But upon closer inspection, analysts discovered 15 of the Swift fans in Trump’s post – all but one – were generated using AI tools.

Big picture: The News Literacy Project estimates 1 in 10 viral political posts contain fake endorsements from celebrities like Morgan Freeman, Bruce Springsteen, and Aaron Rodgers – many of which use AI tools to provide fake “proof” of their claims.

• The legal ramifications of such posts are unclear; analysts say they could potentially violate laws surrounding unauthorized commercial use of people’s likenesses.

📝 Bottom line: “As a general rule, if you see a celebrity wearing a T-shirt with an explicitly political message, there’s a good chance it’s fake,” News Literacy Project senior manager Dan Evon told CNN.