Opinion: petition urges lawmakers to ban AI-generated political content
A petition posted on Reddit’s AI communities on September 18, 2026 calls for comprehensive legislation to stop the use of artificial‑intelligence‑generated media in American politics. The proposal would prohibit government officials, elected or appointed, campaign staff, and contractors from creating, publishing, endorsing, or funding any synthetic text, image, audio, video, or avatar, whether…
Key points
- Petition demands a ban on AI‑generated content by government officials, candidates, and staff in any communication.
- Calls for year‑round prohibition of political deepfakes and AI‑generated paid political ads across all media.
- Proposes civil and criminal penalties, including fines, removal, disclosure, and loss of office eligibility for violations.
The petition outlines penalties that could include proportional fines, mandatory removal of offending content, public disclosure of violations, personal liability, and loss of eligibility for public office for intentional or repeated breaches. It stresses that no exemptions should be allowed for third‑party publishers, consultants, or political action committees, insisting that all political communication influencing public opinion must originate from identifiable human authors. The document argues that authentic human communication is essential for an informed electorate and the health of democracy.
Remove AI generates content from American politics
c.org · 19 September 2026
Remove AI-Generated Content and Deepfakes from American Politics and Political Advertising
The Issue
Artificial Intelligence has reached a point where photographs, audio recordings, videos, speeches, interviews, documents, and official communications can be fabricated so convincingly that the average citizen cannot easily distinguish truth from fiction.
Democracy depends on an informed public. Citizens cannot make informed decisions when political discourse is flooded with synthetic media, algorithmically generated messaging, deepfakes, and paid political propaganda. Public trust requires authentic human communication, transparent governance, and accountability.
Public trust is a cornerstone of democratic government and should not be compromised by synthetic media, deepfakes, or machine-generated political messaging. It is time to establish clear legal boundaries that prevent artificial intelligence from being used to influence, manipulate, or deceive the public in political matters.
Therefore, we call upon lawmakers to enact legislation that:
1. Prohibit AI-Generated Content by Government Officials and Representatives
Ban the creation, publication, distribution, sharing, reposting, endorsement, promotion, or funding of AI-generated or synthetic media, including text, images, video, audio, documents, speeches, animations, virtual avatars, simulations, and other machine-generated content, by:
- Federal, state, county, and municipal government agencies.
- Government employees acting in any official capacity.
- Elected officials.
- Appointed officials.
- Political candidates.
- Campaign staff and authorized campaign representatives.
- Public contractors acting on behalf of government entities.
- Any individual serving as an official spokesperson or representative of a government body.
This prohibition should apply to both official and personal communications that can be construed as authoritative or official, including but not limited to:
- Official government websites and publications.
- Press releases and public statements.
- Campaign communications.
- Personal websites.
- Personal social media accounts.
- Video-sharing platforms.
- Podcasts.
- Email newsletters.
- Blogs.
- Text messaging campaigns.
- Any other publicly accessible communications platform.
Individuals who hold elected or appointed office should be prohibited from publishing, distributing, endorsing, or knowingly amplifying AI-generated political content in any capacity while serving in office. Public trust in elected leadership requires that communications from public officials be authentic, attributable, and human-created, regardless of whether those communications originate from government channels or personal accounts.
2. Prohibit Deepfakes in Politics
Make it unlawful to create, distribute, fund, publish, or promote deepfake content depicting political candidates, elected officials, government representatives, public policies, legislative matters, or political events for the purpose of influencing public opinion.
This prohibition should apply year-round and not be limited to election periods.
3. Ban AI Generated Content in Political Advertising
Prohibit all AI Generated content in paid political advertising, regardless of medium, including:
- Television advertisements.
- Radio advertisements.
- Internet advertisements.
- Social media advertisements.
- Influencer-sponsored political content.
- Streaming platform advertisements.
- Billboard advertising.
- Print advertising.
- Direct-mail political advertisements.
- Any other paid communication intended to influence public opinion regarding political candidates, political parties, legislation, ballot measures, or public policy.
4. Establish Meaningful Penalties
Any violation should carry substantial civil and criminal penalties, including:
- Fines proportional to the scope and reach of the violation.
- Mandatory removal and correction of prohibited content.
- Public disclosure requirements for violations.
- Personal liability for individuals who authorize or direct prohibited conduct.
- Loss of eligibility for public office for intentional or repeated violations.
- Additional sanctions for government employees, contractors, and representatives acting under public authority.
5. No Exemptions Through Third Parties
The law must not permit circumvention through unofficial channels, political action committees, consultants, advocacy organizations, surrogate speakers, contractors, or third-party publishers.
Any AI-generated content created, funded, commissioned, distributed, endorsed, reposted, shared, amplified, or knowingly promoted by an elected official, appointed official, candidate for office, government employee, or government representative shall constitute a violation regardless of the platform used or whether the communication is characterized as personal, unofficial, private, independent, or third-party content.
Public office is a position of trust. Individuals entrusted with governmental authority should be held to the highest standard of authenticity and transparency in all public communications.
6. Authentic Human Communication Standard
All political and governmental communications intended to influence public opinion, advocate policy positions, promote legislation, support candidates, or otherwise shape public discourse should originate from identifiable human authors and remain subject to public accountability.
Citizens have a right to know that political messages are created by real people who can be held responsible for their statements, actions, and representations.
Why This Matters
Political power must be earned through honest communication, not synthetic media, algorithmic manipulation, deepfakes, or paid propaganda.
Democracy cannot function when citizens are forced to question whether political communications are authentic or artificially manufactured. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable of generating convincing text, images, audio, and video, the risk to public trust grows accordingly.
Government officials and political actors should persuade the public through genuine ideas, authentic communication, open debate, and personal accountability, not through synthetic media, machine-generated messaging, or paid influence campaigns.
The foundation of a healthy democracy is an informed electorate. That foundation weakens when voters are unable to determine what is real, who authored a message, or whether information has been manipulated by artificial means.
We call on lawmakers at every level of government to protect the integrity of public discourse by prohibiting AI-generated political content, banning deepfakes in politics, and political advertising, while establishing meaningful accountability for violations.
Sign this petition if you believe democracy should be governed by truth, transparency, personal accountability, and authentic human communication.
11
The Issue
Artificial Intelligence has reached a point where photographs, audio recordings, videos, speeches, interviews, documents, and official communications can be fabricated so convincingly that the average citizen cannot easily distinguish truth from fiction.
Democracy depends on an informed public. Citizens cannot make informed decisions when political discourse is flooded with synthetic media, algorithmically generated messaging, deepfakes, and paid political propaganda. Public trust requires authentic human communication, transparent governance, and accountability.
Public trust is a cornerstone of democratic government and should not be compromised by synthetic media, deepfakes, or machine-generated political messaging. It is time to establish clear legal boundaries that prevent artificial intelligence from being used to influence, manipulate, or deceive the public in political matters.
Therefore, we call upon lawmakers to enact legislation that:
1. Prohibit AI-Generated Content by Government Officials and Representatives
Ban the creation, publication, distribution, sharing, reposting, endorsement, promotion, or funding of AI-generated or synthetic media, including text, images, video, audio, documents, speeches, animations, virtual avatars, simulations, and other machine-generated content, by:
- Federal, state, county, and municipal government agencies.
- Government employees acting in any official capacity.
- Elected officials.
- Appointed officials.
- Political candidates.
- Campaign staff and authorized campaign representatives.
- Public contractors acting on behalf of government entities.
- Any individual serving as an official spokesperson or representative of a government body.
This prohibition should apply to both official and personal communications that can be construed as authoritative or official, including but not limited to:
- Official government websites and publications.
- Press releases and public statements.
- Campaign communications.
- Personal websites.
- Personal social media accounts.
- Video-sharing platforms.
- Podcasts.
- Email newsletters.
- Blogs.
- Text messaging campaigns.
- Any other publicly accessible communications platform.
Individuals who hold elected or appointed office should be prohibited from publishing, distributing, endorsing, or knowingly amplifying AI-generated political content in any capacity while serving in office. Public trust in elected leadership requires that communications from public officials be authentic, attributable, and human-created, regardless of whether those communications originate from government channels or personal accounts.
2. Prohibit Deepfakes in Politics
Make it unlawful to create, distribute, fund, publish, or promote deepfake content depicting political candidates, elected officials, government representatives, public policies, legislative matters, or political events for the purpose of influencing public opinion.
This prohibition should apply year-round and not be limited to election periods.
3. Ban AI Generated Content in Political Advertising
Prohibit all AI Generated content in paid political advertising, regardless of medium, including:
- Television advertisements.
- Radio advertisements.
- Internet advertisements.
- Social media advertisements.
- Influencer-sponsored political content.
- Streaming platform advertisements.
- Billboard advertising.
- Print advertising.
- Direct-mail political advertisements.
- Any other paid communication intended to influence public opinion regarding political candidates, political parties, legislation, ballot measures, or public policy.
4. Establish Meaningful Penalties
Any violation should carry substantial civil and criminal penalties, including:
- Fines proportional to the scope and reach of the violation.
- Mandatory removal and correction of prohibited content.
- Public disclosure requirements for violations.
- Personal liability for individuals who authorize or direct prohibited conduct.
- Loss of eligibility for public office for intentional or repeated violations.
- Additional sanctions for government employees, contractors, and representatives acting under public authority.
5. No Exemptions Through Third Parties
The law must not permit circumvention through unofficial channels, political action committees, consultants, advocacy organizations, surrogate speakers, contractors, or third-party publishers.
Any AI-generated content created, funded, commissioned, distributed, endorsed, reposted, shared, amplified, or knowingly promoted by an elected official, appointed official, candidate for office, government employee, or government representative shall constitute a violation regardless of the platform used or whether the communication is characterized as personal, unofficial, private, independent, or third-party content.
Public office is a position of trust. Individuals entrusted with governmental authority should be held to the highest standard of authenticity and transparency in all public communications.
6. Authentic Human Communication Standard
All political and governmental communications intended to influence public opinion, advocate policy positions, promote legislation, support candidates, or otherwise shape public discourse should originate from identifiable human authors and remain subject to public accountability.
Citizens have a right to know that political messages are created by real people who can be held responsible for their statements, actions, and representations.
Why This Matters
Political power must be earned through honest communication, not synthetic media, algorithmic manipulation, deepfakes, or paid propaganda.
Democracy cannot function when citizens are forced to question whether political communications are authentic or artificially manufactured. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable of generating convincing text, images, audio, and video, the risk to public trust grows accordingly.
Government officials and political actors should persuade the public through genuine ideas, authentic communication, open debate, and personal accountability, not through synthetic media, machine-generated messaging, or paid influence campaigns.
The foundation of a healthy democracy is an informed electorate. That foundation weakens when voters are unable to determine what is real, who authored a message, or whether information has been manipulated by artificial means.
We call on lawmakers at every level of government to protect the integrity of public discourse by prohibiting AI-generated political content, banning deepfakes in politics, and political advertising, while establishing meaningful accountability for violations.
Sign this petition if you believe democracy should be governed by truth, transparency, personal accountability, and authentic human communication.
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition Updates
Petition created on September 18, 2026
This text was published by c.org. It is reproduced here with attribution so you can read it in full; the rights remain with the publisher. Read it at the source ↗
Coverage and discussion
1source- Reddit discussionreddit.com
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