PACs: deepfakes of private persons are not ads
Likeness law. FTC disclosure is separate from the AI label.
Likeness law. FTC disclosure is separate from the AI label.
A generated "voter in Ohio," a neighbour-shaped supporter, a staffer cloned from a field-office headshot — those are not ads. They are replicas of private persons, usually without a grant, wearing a political brief. Labelling the file AI-generated does not create permission. Labelling it AI-generated also does not tell anyone who paid. This is general information, not legal advice.
A PAC that needs speed still does not need invented people. Real footage, maps, and a burned-in paid-for-by line are ads. A deepfake of a private person is a takedown and a rights problem.
A private-person replica is not a political ad
A deepfake of a private person is not a style. TikTok forbids adult private figures used without permission. Minors are a hard stop. "We labelled it" does not create a grant. "It is an original character who happens to look like her" is not a defence if you used her face as the seed.
Private means not a public figure. A constituent, a volunteer, a "real American at a diner," a victim in an issue spot — those are private figures. A reasonable person who knows them saying "that is them" is the test. Style-reference of a private headshot is how you get their head. Do not.
Political video under state deepfake disclosure laws already names what you do not generate at all: a real, identifiable person saying or doing something they did not; a synthesised voice of a named person; fabricated documentary evidence; generated depictions of identifiable private individuals. A label does not cure those.
The legal map underneath is the FTC impersonation rule and AI brand fakes: the federal Impersonation Rule covers government and businesses, not individuals; individual likeness is state right-of-publicity. A synthetic private person framed as a real supporter can also be a fabricated testimonial under the reviews rule.
Paid-for-by is not the AI sparkle
The FTC ad disclosure is separate from the AI label. A paid integration still needs a clear commercial disclosure. An AI info tag does not tell the viewer they are being sold to. Layer the disclosures. Do not hide the paid nature behind the synthetic nature.
Hold up the finished unit and ask both. Would this person reasonably think nobody paid? "Paid for by…" belongs on the creative, early, readable without sound — plus the platform political-ad controls where they exist. Would they reasonably think a real neighbour had this experience? A synthetic "I switched because…" framed as a voter is a fake endorsement with a face.
AI info, AIGC, Made with AI — those badges answer a third question: was a generative tool involved. A viewer can read "AI info" and still believe the person on screen is a real constituent. They can still miss who paid. The sparkle does not carry the commercial fact, and it does not carry a likeness grant.
There is no nationwide AI-specific disclosure statute for political advertising. State rules differ on who is covered, when, and how you disclose. Organic posts reshare past any geo-fence. Treat organic as labelled. Apply the strictest rule you are subject to, everywhere.
What a PAC can generate
Generated material is good for typographic backgrounds, map beds, abstract plates, and title cards. None of that depicts anyone. Real footage of events you actually ran is still better than a generated crowd presented as a record.
If a living candidate must appear as a replica, that is a clearance step with a specific grant — not a prompt detail at 11pm. Most PAC weeks do not need that grant. They need to stop generating people.
Ship plates. Burn paid-for-by. Burn the AI line where the picture could pass as real. Leave private persons uninvented.
FAQ
If we label the spot AI-generated, can we use a private voter's face?
No. The private-figure restriction is permission, not labelling. A label does not create a grant, and it does not satisfy a paid-for-by duty.
Does an AI info tag satisfy the paid-for-by line?
No. AI info tells a viewer a generative tool may have been involved. The commercial fact is who paid. Put "Paid for by [committee]" on the creative. Use the platform political-ad toggle as well when you have one.
Can a disclosure fix a fabricated "real voter" testimonial?
No. Labelling the file as AI, or as an ad, does not make an invented experience true. Do not generate a constituent who does not exist.
We only used AI for the background plate. Do we still label it?
Assume yes, and check the definition in the states you care about. An unnecessary label costs a line of text. The background still must not be a recognisable private person.