Democrats file complaint over Blakeman's AI-generated campaign ads

ALBANY — The chair of the state Democratic committee filed a complaint with the state Board of Elections on Monday over Republican Bruce Blakeman’s use of artificial intelligence in campaign ads.

Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, has posted multiple AI-generated campaign ads, often featuring his opponent, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In his complaint, state Democratic chair Jay Jacobs alleges that Blakeman is violating a state law that requires political communications that use artificial intelligence to state so clearly.

Jacobs also alleged Blakeman is using taxpayer dollars, which Blakeman receives through the state’s public campaign finance program, to pay for the ads.

"The State Board of Elections cannot permit a campaign to repeatedly flout the Election Law and it certainly cannot permit that campaign to pull down public matching funds in furtherance of this subversion," Jacobs wrote to the board.

A spokesperson for the board declined to comment.

New York does not have any laws banning AI use in campaign ads, though it does have a disclosure requirement for political communications that use "materially deceptive media," with an exception for parody and satire.

Many of Blakeman’s AI-generated ads, which have featured Hochul and Mamdani as "South Park" characters, thieves, professional movers and basketball players, have a disclosure at the end of the video. But some have not included the disclosure.

Newsday previously identified at least 17 videos that appear to contain AI-generated content posted between Jan. 1 and July 17.

Blakeman's campaign previously called the ads clear examples of satire.

"Kathy Hochul is so desperate to distract from her record of higher taxes and soaring utility bills that she's begging Jay Jacobs to run interference," Blakeman campaign spokesperson Madison Spanodemos said Monday. "The facts about Hochul's affordability crisis aren't going away, no matter how hard they try to change the subject."

Hochul’s campaign has not used AI-generated figures in ads. Her campaign declined to comment.