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Elon Musk reposted a deep fake parody of Kamala Harris’s campaign video on X, seemingly violating the social media platform’s rules.
The AI-powered video purported audio containing the voice of the Democratic candidate hopeful, declaring that she was an incompetent presidential option and calling Joe Biden senile.
This is amazing 😂
pic.twitter.com/KpnBKGUUwn— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 26, 2024
An X account initially created the controversial parody under the name MrReaganUSA. At the time of writing, it had 15.6 million views.
The deepfake contains many of the same visual elements of the genuine campaign ad released by Harris’ team to boost her appeal and overall campaign to secure the Democrat nomination for the US Presidential election in November following Joe Biden’s sudden exit from the impending race for the White House.
After the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur shared the doctored video on his X account on July 26, it went viral, triggering plenty of reaction on both sides of the debate. Crucially, it was not labeled as a parody because it was based on the original source.
“I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate,” the voice in the video states. Further, the AI Harris claims she is a “diversity hire” because she is a woman and a person of color. The fake campaign also states that Harris doesn’t know “the first thing about running the country.”
Musk’s Comments on Deepfakes
Since Musk’s initial comment on the deepfake, he has sought to dismiss criticism by standing up for the right to parody. Still, some would question if such an influential figure should be actively sharing AI-manipulated content and seeking to influence opinion on the upcoming election.
The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, railed against the fake video on X, insisting ‘manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal.’ In response, Musk fired back, displaying an obvious contempt for Gov. Newsom’s position, “I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznuts, and he said parody is legal in America.”
I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America 🤷♂️ https://t.co/OCBewC3XYD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024
