Campaigns spend $137 million on AI political ads with few disclaimers

Political campaigns and outside groups have funneled over $137 million into advertisements created at least partially with artificial intelligence ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. New data from the Wesleyan Media Project highlights a dramatic escalation in synthetic media usage, marking a steep climb from the nascent spending observed during the 2024 election cycle.

Researchers identified 220 political ads across 34 states utilizing AI tools so far. However, tracking remains difficult, and the real volume is likely higher given that only 30 states currently mandate AI disclosures for political messaging. Out of the identified spots, a mere 27% included any kind of notice informing viewers that synthetic media was involved.

Republican candidates and associated groups have driven the vast majority of this financial push, accounting for 81 percent of the identified ads and 88 percent of total spending. Democratic entities sponsored just 12 percent of the spots. Analysts suggest Democrats face heightened reputational risks in utilizing a technology that key party members are actively attempting to regulate.

Nearly half of the detected AI-generated spots relied on deepfake depictions of real political figures, frequently linking local candidates to prominent national Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Other campaigns have deployed synthetic tools purely to generate stock footage and lower production budgets. With state laws varying widely and deadlines looming, the flood of AI content on television and social feeds shows no signs of slowing.