Tracking the Explosive World of Generative AI

Politicians May Get a Free Pass Under Meta's AI-Generated Fake Image Rules

Meta is reportedly weighing the option of exempting politicians from AI-generated image restrictions, raising concerns about potential disinformation and the impact on the democratic process, especially with the 2024 US Presidential election approaching.

Meta is considering exempting AI-generated images used by politicians from its review policies. Photo credit: Getty Images

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Meta is considering exempting politicians from AI-generated image restrictions, potentially allowing their use in political campaigns without the usual scrutiny.
This exemption raises concerns about the spread of disinformation, fairness, and the potential impact on political discourse, particularly with the 2024 US Presidential election approaching.
The decision could have far-reaching implications for democracy, further blurring the line between reality and falsehood in an increasingly AI-driven media landscape.

By Michael Zhang

April 07, 2023

Meta is contemplating allowing politicians an exemption from regulations that govern AI-generated fake images on its platforms, reports the Washington Post.

Sources cited by the paper suggest that Meta has communicated to political campaigns that AI-generated images, ordinarily classified as manipulated media and subject to removal under specific criteria, would at most undergo scrutiny by independent fact-checkers who could apply warning labels to the content. These independent fact-checking organizations support Meta in categorizing content as "False," "Altered," or "Partly False."

Meta's ambiguous stance has already sparked concerns among political operatives. Campaigns are apprehensive that human fact-checkers may struggle to cope with the burgeoning volume of AI-generated images, which can be mass-produced and exhibit increasingly lifelike results.

A more significant issue for campaigns is whether Meta's fact-checking exemption for politicians would encompass AI-generated images. Meta currently grants politicians an exemption, invoking the company's "fundamental belief in free expression" and "respect for the democratic process."

AI-generated images have previously been embroiled in political controversy. Just this month, journalist Eliot Higgins, founder of investigate outlet Bellingcat, faced a ban from the AI image platform Midjourney for fabricating images of Donald Trump's arrest.

Donald Trump is arrested by the police. Generated via Midjourney by Eliot Higgins. Source: Eliot Higgins

Should Meta's fact-checking exemption extend to AI images generated by political campaigns, it may prove ill-timed for the company. As the 2024 US Presidential election looms and Meta intensifies its investments in generative AI technologies, Former President Donald Trump recently shared an AI-generated image of himself on Truth Social, and political campaigns in other nations have unveiled videos showcasing politicians speaking with AI-generated voices.

While social media platforms such as Twitter and TikTok enforce more stringent restrictions on AI-generated media, even Twitter offers a carve-out exemption for politicians. This policy leaves the platform susceptible to pervasive disinformation as AI content proliferates.

Notwithstanding the controversial ramifications, political campaigns also perceive benefits in employing AI-generated images for more innocuous purposes. One political operative interviewed by the Post elaborated, “I typed in, ‘Construction worker wearing hard hat reviewing tablet device next to clean water field.’ There’s a potential here of using that — where you can specify a shot and a look and a style rather than having to draw on stock images.”