Attorney General Lynn Fitch (Photo from Lynn Fitch campaign)
- Attorney General Lynn Fitch also asked Colom and his campaign to preserve all records related to this matter so as not to obstruct justice “as violations of this election integrity law can carry criminal penalties.”
Attorney General Lynn Fitch has notified Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom and his campaign, Scott Colom for Senate, that their AI-generated ads on their social media platforms appear to violate State law against the use of “deepfakes” to influence elections.
The action comes after the Mississippi Republican Party asked the Attorney General to investigate and seek injunctive relief over the Democrat’s AI generated video that shows images of a woman generated to look like incumbent U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith exiting what is assumed to be the U.S. Capitol.
The Attorney General asked Colom to remove the ads “or else the office may file an injunction as authorized by law.”
Attorney General Fitch also asked Colom and his campaign to preserve all records related to this matter so as not to obstruct justice “as violations of this election integrity law can carry criminal penalties.”
The AG added that violations of Section 97-13-47 of the Mississippi Code carry penalties of up to 5 years in prison and/or fines of up to $10,000 if the intent is to “deter any person from voting.”
Other violations carry penalties of up 1 year in prison and/or fines of up to $5,000.
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UPDATE:
Colom issued the following statement after the Attorney General’s notice:
“Cindy Hyde-Smith is clearly desperate and she and her allies are once again trying to weaponize the justice system to distract from the real issues, which is that she has sold out our farmers, sold out our small business, and sold out our families. Clearly this was parody, maybe too close to home because she knows she does love to hide from her own constituents and reporters. I’m honored to have received thousands of donations from working Mississippians who chipped in what they could because they are ready for change, and I will not waste those hard-earned dollars on costly litigation because unlike Cindy Hyde-Smith, my campaign is powered by everyday people. We are going to delete the post in the spirit of being good stewards of their money.”
The Mississippi Republican Party also issued a statement, saying:
“We appreciate the Attorney General opening an investigation into this serious matter, enforcing our election laws, and demanding that Scott Colom stop violating state law,” said Mike Hurst, Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. “Colom began his campaign with a fake phone call violating federal law and is ending it with a fake video violating state law. Voters are finally seeing the real Scott Colom. Mississippians deserve better than someone who will say or do anything just to get elected.”
