Campaigners have issued a warning about the use of AI-generated images targeting black voters by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a group advocating for black voter engagement, has expressed concern that these so-called “deepfake” images are being utilised to sway the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
Albright’s remarks come in the wake of a BBC Panorama investigation uncovering numerous deepfakes depicting black individuals as supporters of the former president.
According to Albright, these fabricated images align with a calculated narrative aimed at persuading black voters to endorse Trump in the upcoming election.
The BBC investigation claims the fake images can cause a significant disinformation leading up to the November election.
However, it found no direct evidence linking these deepfakes to Trump’s campaign.
One such deepfake, produced by Mark Kaye and his team at a conservative radio show in Florida, portrays Trump smiling while surrounded by a group of black women at a party.
This image was disseminated on Facebook, where Kaye boasts more than one million followers. Comments beneath the post indicate that some users were misled into believing the AI-generated image was authentic.
“I’m not a photojournalist,” Mr Kaye told the BBC. “I’m not out there taking pictures of what’s really happening. I’m a storyteller.”
Along with the AI image of Trump, he posted a link to an article claiming black voters are supporting him.
“I’m not claiming it is accurate,” added Mr Kaye. “I’m not saying, ‘Hey, look, Donald Trump was at this party with all of these African American voters. Look how much they love him!’
“If anybody’s voting one way or another because of one photo they see on a Facebook page, that’s a problem with that person, not with the post itself.”
The BBC investigation also uncovered another deepfake featuring Trump, this time showing him posing with a group of young black men on a doorstep. Identified as “Shaggy,” the individual behind the account is described as a devoted Trump supporter residing in Michigan.
The post has garnered over 1.3 million views on X (formerly Twitter).
While some users recognised it as a fake, others were deceived into believing the image was authentic.
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Trump’s campaign is actively seeking to boost support from black voters, a demographic crucial to Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.
However, a recent poll conducted by The New York Times and Sienna College revealed a decline in support for Biden among black voters in six key swing states.
The poll indicated that 71 percent of black voters in these states would support Biden in 2024, down from the 92 percent nationally that contributed to his victory four years ago.
