BBC Panorama has revealed that supporters of former President Donald Trump have been creating and sharing AI-generated fake images of black voters in an attempt to encourage African Americans to vote Republican.
These deep fakes, discovered by BBC Panorama, portray black individuals as supporting the former president. Despite Mr. Trump's overt courting of black voters, there is no direct evidence linking these images to his campaign.
Isaac Adongo, the Ranking Member of Parliament's Finance Committee, criticized Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's digitalization drive, arguing that it has failed to effectively address corruption in Ghana.
Speaking at a public lecture organized by the Coalition for Restoration (CFR) at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on February 28, Adongo emphasized the need for a more comprehensive digitalization strategy that minimizes human intervention in public service delivery and enhances transparency.
Adongo highlighted the National Democratic Congress (NDC)'s commitment to implementing an advanced digitalization system if elected, surpassing the current efforts led by Dr. Bawumia. He expressed dissatisfaction with the government's digitalization agenda, characterizing it as limited to “stand-alone improvement tools” that have not adequately tackled corruption or improved efficiency in public service delivery.
According to BBC Panorama's investigation, creators of these AI-generated images admitted that they were not claiming accuracy. Mark Kaye, a radio show host in Florida, created an image of Mr. Trump with black women at a party and shared it on Facebook, where he has a substantial following. Although the image appeared real at first glance, there were subtle indications of AI manipulation upon closer inspection.
Another widely viewed AI image found by the BBC depicts Mr Trump posing with black voters on a front porch. Originally posted by a satirical account, the image gained widespread attention when reposted with a false caption claiming that Mr Trump had stopped his motorcade to meet these individuals.
Despite these findings, there were no similarly manipulated images found featuring Joe Biden with voters from a particular demographic. However, AI-generated impersonations targeting Mr Biden have also occurred.
Cliff Albright, co-founder of campaign group Black Voters Matter, highlighted the resurgence of disinformation tactics targeting the black community, particularly younger black voters. He emphasized the need to counter the strategic narrative pushed by conservatives aimed at winning over black voters.
With the 2024 election approaching, efforts by political action committees backing Trump to target black voters in key battleground states like Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are expected to intensify. These efforts aim to sway voters like Douglas, a taxi driver in Atlanta, highlighting the significance of the black vote in determining election outcomes.