On Sunday, former President Donald Trump shared a compilation of memes on Truth Social, the platform owned by his media company, that appear to show Taylor Swift and her fans supporting his election. However, if new legislation takes effect, these photos may have broader consequences for the use of AI-generated images in political campaigns, particularly when they distort a celebrity's resemblance.
"One of the things I'm seeing a lot of in my practice right now is the rise of AI impersonators across the board for endorsements," Noah Downs, an IP and entertainment lawyer, told us, adding that his comments do not constitute legal advice. These bogus AI endorsements have gotten so common that even "Shark Tank" had to issue a PSA to alert fans about the frequency of scams impersonating the show's investors.
In one of the photos Trump shared, a swarm of young women wear matching "Swifties for Trump" t-shirts. While there is political diversity within Swift's enormous fan base, these photographs appear to be AI-generated—in reality, they are from a satirical post on X.
Another joke Trump shared was a screenshot from X that depicted Taylor Swift as Uncle Sam and stated, "Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump."
Though the pop icon has not yet spoken on the 2024 presidential election in the United States, she officially supported the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 and criticized Trump. Some fans assumed that Swift had gently endorsed Harris in an Instagram post this month, but this was not true.
Swift, as one of pop culture's most influential figures, has been the target of numerous deepfakes. When non-consensual, pornographic AI photos of Swift went viral on X this year, several politicians responded by proposing new legislation to safeguard against deepfakes. Even White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to take action.
Eight months later, the legal situation surrounding false synthetic media looks very different. Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee, where Swift's corporate representation is based, signed the groundbreaking ELVIS Act into law in March, which explicitly protects artists from unauthorized AI imitations of their work.
"This legislation was passed with bipartisan support, because everyone appears to recognize the problems that AI and misuse of AI tools can present to the public," according to Downs.
However, because the ELVIS Act is relatively new, there is no precedence for how it could be utilized to protect artists. Much of the legislation's text focuses on AI-generated audio that may imitate an artist's voice, such as the viral Drake song that turned out to be a forgery.
"I do think that this is going to be a long-term issue that the ELVIS Act is very prescient in taking care of, but we need to have more robust national legislation about it," Downs told the audience. The only reason the ELVIS Act could come into play is Swift's ties to the state, where she owns businesses and real estate.
Avi D. Kelin, a partner at PEM Law who specializes in political law, is skeptical that the ELVIS Act will apply because the law appears to focus on audio-based impersonation rather than visual. Instead, he worries whether this will become a federal election integrity issue in the future.
"The larger question is whether the Federal Election Commission, which has jurisdiction over political communications, will get involved," he told TechCrunch. However, he stated that the FEC is unlikely to issue new standards on AI-generated political messages this election year.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it will proceed with plans to impose new AI transparency rules on television and radio commercials. However, this does not apply to political candidates' social media posts, and social media continues to be an important component of campaign messaging. Meanwhile, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a British NGO focusing on online extremism, found that the volume of AI-generated disinformation on X rose by an average of 130% per month over the previous year.
These deceptive endorsements are significant because Swift's support is possibly the most sought-after celebrity endorsement a candidate can receive. Her cultural influence is so strong that her endorsement of a politician might tip the scales in a close race; according to Morning Consult, more than half of adults in the United States consider themselves Taylor Swift fans, with 16% identifying as enthusiastic fans. These figures are astonishing, especially given that only around two-thirds of eligible Americans voted in the 2020 election.
"The [ELVIS Act] is brand new, and the exact parameters will need to be developed by the courts," according to Kelin. "This would certainly be an interesting test case!"