Rodney Glassman, who is running for Arizona Attorney General against Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) in the Republican primary, produced a campaign ad showing a “deepfake” version of Petersen grinning and walking. The ad implied that Petersen, an attorney and real estate broker, was “for sale,” portraying him standing in front of a home with a for sale sign.
Petersen’s campaign manager, Chad LeBeau, told Arizona Insiders his perspective on the ad, noting that Petersen has led Glassman in every poll. “Rodney Glassman is lashing out with desperate, silly metaphors because his polling numbers are cratering by the day, and his entire campaign narrative falls apart under the slightest scrutiny,” he said. “That is why AGs across the country, along with former Assistant Attorneys General who know the inner workings of the department, explicitly asked Warren Petersen to run and have endorsed him as the only candidate ready on day one. In fact, they made it clear that Petersen is already effectively doing the job of the Attorney General. Zero current Attorneys General trust Rodney’s qualifications to do the job.”
Arizona law prohibits a person from creating or distributing a “deceptive and fraudulent deepfake” of a candidate within 90 days before an election unless it includes a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the content was generated or manipulated by AI. The ad did not include this disclaimer.
A.R.S. 16-1023 states that the deepfake must show (1), an intent to injure reputation or deceive voters, and (2), that appears to show the candidate saying or doing something that didn’t happen or creates a fundamentally different impression from reality. Violating the law is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
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