AI-Generated Political Ads Top $137M Ahead of 2026 Midterms
Political campaigns and groups have spent more than $137 million on ads created at least partly with AI tools ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections, per data from the Wesleyan Media Project — up from less than $50,000 in the 2024 cycle. Researchers identified 220 AI-generated political ads across 34 states this year, but say the true figure is likely higher because AI use is hard to detect and only 30 states require AI disclosures for political ads. Just 27% of the identified ads carried a disclaimer, Republican candidates and groups accounted for 81% of the ads and 88% of the spending, and nearly half featured deepfake depictions of real politicians.
A surge in AI-generated political ads with minimal disclosure could increase voter-deception risk and accelerate state-level regulation.
U.S. political ads have officially entered their AI slop era.
Political campaigns and groups have spent more than $137 million airing ads created at least partly with AI tools ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, according to new data from the Wesleyan Media Project. That’s a massive jump from the 2024 election cycle.
“AI is making its way into the 2026 midterms in a big way this year. For comparison, we identified less than $50,000 in spending on AI-generated ads in the 2024 cycle,” Erika Franklin Fowler, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, said in a news release. “Much of the AI use is not disclosed through any type of disclaimer.”
So far, the research group has identified 220 political ads across 34 states that were created with AI this year. But the actual number is likely higher, since it can be difficult to determine whether AI was used and only 30 states require AI disclosures for political ads.
The group found that just 27% of the ads included a disclaimer informing viewers that ads featured AI-generated content.
#Wesleyan Media Project#Republican Party#Democratic Party#Bruce Blakeman#James Talarico#New York State Democratic Party