A parody video based on an ad produced for the Kamala Harris campaign received millions of views after Elon Musk shared it on X. It triggered controversy because Musk did not mention that the video was a parody, or created with the help of artificial intelligence.
The video, created by an account by the name “Mr. Reagan,” is about 2 minutes in length and features a convincing AI audio track of the vice president’s voice.
While the voice in the video sounds like Harris, it contains numerous things that she would not say, including negative statements about President Joe Biden, her candidacy, and her policy positions. The video does, however, include some real clips of statements Harris has made on-camera, mashing up authentic content with artificial content.
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The “Mr. Reagan” account is run by Chris Kohls, who makes conservative-leaning online videos and content. Kohls confirmed to Scripps News that he used AI to create the voice in the video, but did not reveal the software program used. Kohls also told Scripps it took him around 12 hours to create the parody ad. Kohls said he intended the video to be humorous, claiming there was no sinister intent.
"Those who are criticizing this video by calling it deceptive are trying desperately to find a way to attack Elon Musk," he said. "It's just a fun video. Leftists need to relax.”
Kohls' original post of the video labeled it as a parody. But as is the case with many things on the internet, the virality of the post took over and that context was lost.
The video went viral after Elon Musk shared it. Musk did not directly retweet or repost the video to include the original text indicating that it is a parody. Instead, he shared the video without that context, simply saying, “This is amazing” with a laughing emoji. The version of the video embedded in Musk’s tweet from Friday, without any label indicating that the video is AI-generated, has over 130 million views.
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By sharing the video, Musk appears to have violated his own company's policy on manipulated and synthetic media. The policy clearly states that the dissemination of any synthetic video that could deceive or confuse the public and lead to harm is not allowed. Media is considered in violation of this policy if it is “significantly and deceptively altered, manipulated, or fabricated.” There are also currently no community notes added to the post. Scripps News reached out to X for comment and received an auto-generated response: “Busy now, please check back later.”
A Harris campaign spokesperson told Scripps News in a statement: "We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity, and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump."
This type of fake or AI-generated audio or video is something that lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have been worried about — with many fearing it could be used to manipulate the outcome of the November election. In March, Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced legislation that would ban deceptive deepfakes of federal candidates and require disclaimers on AI-generated political ads.
She tweeted on Sunday, “If Elon Musk and X let this go and don’t label it as altered AI content, they will not only be violating X’s own rules, they’ll be unleashing an entire election season of fake AI voice and image-altered content with no limits, regardless of party.”
