We’ve tracked $80M of spending on almost 170 AI-generated political ads this year – it’s weird

Researchers tracked 80 million dollars spent on nearly 170 AI-generated political ads during the 2026 U.S. midterms, with Republican sponsors accounting for over 80 percent of the spending. The ads ranged from political deepfakes to subtle visual edits. Media analysts and political scientists now face inconsistent state disclosure rules and hard-to-detect alterations when tracking campaign communication.

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