Can AI equalize political campaign ads – or will it remain a tool for spreading lies?
TL;DR
Jonathan Rinaldi, a Queens city council candidate, posted AI-made fake-news items with a CNN-style look and invented endorsements against Lynn Schulman in 2025. Schulman stayed in the race and won easily. On 24 June, Rinaldi was charged with alleged forgery. He argues the posts were satire and political art, while local officials frame the case as potential voter deception.
Nauti's Take
The democratization pitch is convenient: less money, more reach, a more equal stage. In practice, AI democratizes production before it democratizes accountability.
A fake CNN-style item or invented endorsement is not scrappy campaigning; it is a test of how much deception platforms, voters and officials will tolerate. Good rules should care less about the label AI and more about the core question: does the ad fake a real person, source or endorsement?
Briefingshow
The case shows why AI in campaigns is more than a cheaper creative tool. Small candidates can suddenly produce polished material, but the same tools lower the cost of fake proof, invented endorsements and synthetic outrage. Regulators are stuck between election fraud, satire and free speech.
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