Can AI equalize political campaign ads – or will it remain a tool for spreading lies?
TL;DR
Queens city council candidate Jonathan Rinaldi posted AI-generated fake news items in October 2025, styled with a CNN look and made-up endorsements. His opponent Lynn Schulman had not dropped out and later won easily. Rinaldi was arrested on 24 June on alleged misdemeanor forgery charges. He frames the posts as satire and political art, while local officials argue voters were deceived.
Nauti's Take
The equalizer argument is only half true. AI can give outsiders studio-level campaign material without a studio budget.
The same cost curve also rewards the candidate who fabricates an endorsement, a fake withdrawal or an opponent in a fantasy scene. Disclosure rules help, but they do not solve the feed problem: by the time someone checks the clip, it may already have done its emotional work.
Briefingshow
AI sharply lowers the cost of producing campaign media. That can help underfunded candidates look professional, but it also makes lies cheaper, faster and more visually convincing. The hard part is not the tool itself, but where satire ends, manipulation begins and deception becomes enforceable.
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