Billionaire X boss Elon Musk was facing criticism on Monday for sharing a deepfake video of US Vice President Kamala Harris, which tech campaigners said was in violation of the platform’s own policies.
Musk reposted a video from Harris’ campaign in which a voiceover imitating him calls President Joe Biden old, declares that she “knows nothing about running a country,” and says that as a woman and a Black person, she is the “best appointment for diversity.”
The video was originally posted by an X account associated with conservative podcaster Chris Kohls, and was labeled a “parody.”
But Musk made no such revelation in his post on Friday, simply saying “this is amazing” along with a laughing emoji.
Musk’s post has been viewed over 130 million times and comes amid growing concerns over AI-enabled political disinformation ahead of the US presidential election in November.
“We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity, and security that Vice President Harris is offering; not the false, deceptive lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” Harris’ presidential campaign said in a statement.
With nearly 192 million followers, Musk is a highly influential voice on the platform, formerly called Twitter, which he bought in 2022 in a $44 billion deal.
Earlier this month, Musk endorsed Trump in a post on X, shortly after an assassination attempt was made on the Republican during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, posted on X that the doctored video of Harris “should be illegal” and that he would soon sign a bill banning such media.
Musk responded to his post, saying that “parody is legal in the US”, and included the original video below it.
Musk’s post appeared to violate X’s policies, which prohibit sharing “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or mislead people and cause harm.”
X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
“The rules of the road are ignored (because) he bought the road,” Nora Benavidez, a senior attorney at the watchdog Free Press, wrote on X, citing Musk’s apparent violation of the site’s policies.
Misinformation researchers fear widespread misuse of AI technology in this key election year, as tools available online are plentiful, cheap and easy to use, and lack adequate safeguards.
AI-generated content — particularly audio, which experts say is difficult to identify — sparked concern nationally in January, when a fake robocall posing as Biden urged New Hampshire residents not to vote in the state’s primary election.
“Platforms play a huge role in the election cycle,” Benavidez wrote. “They have to do better.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
