Elon Musk posts deepfake of Kamala Harris that violates X policy

The video Musk shared on Friday alters a recent campaign video released by Harris, which makes it appear as if the presidential candidate said things she didn’t say. The doctored clip shows Harris saying things like she is “the ultimate diversity hire” and that she “spent four years under the tutelage of the ultimate deep state puppet, a wonderful mentor, Joe Biden.” The original account that posted the video labeled it a “Kamala Harris Campaign Ad PARODY,” a warning that could prevent it from violating X’s policies. But that context didn’t appear in Musk’s repost. Instead, Musk’s post simply showed the video, adding his own comment: “This is amazing,” with a laughing emoji.

This has left platforms like X responsible for creating their own rules regarding misinformation. Under X Policies, “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may mislead or confuse people and cause harm” is not allowed on the platform. Mr. ” Then consider the context, as if it is being presented as reality. And lastly, it determines whether the content could lead to “widespread confusion about public issues, impact public safety, or cause serious harm.” X says satire does not violate the policy as long as it does not “cause significant confusion about the authenticity of the media.” Even a lenient reading of these policies would suggest that Musk’s post violated these rules.

Musk’s post is already receiving resistance from the left. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote in Threads that if Musk’s post remains without context, X and Musk “will not only be violating X’s own rules, they will be unleashing an entire election season of AI fake voice and altered image content without limits, regardless of party.” Klobuchar has introduced legislation to require liability exemptions in substantially altered or AI-generated political ads.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) also highlighted Musk’s post, writing in X that “manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this should be illegal,” adding that he would “sign a bill in a matter of weeks to ensure this is done.”

Musk responded to that post with a link to the original post of the digitally altered video that includes the parody label: “I checked with the world’s renowned authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America.”