Secretary of State Steve Hobbs warned voters of this misinformation in a Monday news release, urging them to use trusted sources such as established news outlets and official government institutions to navigate upcoming elections.
“Artificial intelligence is getting easier and cheaper to manipulate for a broad number of malicious actors,” Hobbs said in a statement. “The rest of us must be careful to verify what we see before we take it to heart.”
Faked material is likely to pervade social media, Hobbs said in a statement, citing a July 26 post on X by platform owner Elon Musk of a manipulated recording of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for President.
After President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from a reelection campaign on July 21, X’s AI search assistant Grok generated false information about ballot deadlines in Washington and eight other states. This information was then shared on multiple social media platforms.
Hobbs also cited a video in Utah falsely indicating the governor’s involvement in signature-gathering fraud in June, videos of Biden and Harris portraying them making statements they did not say in July, and a deepfake robocall of Biden discouraging New Hampshire voters from participating in the election during the presidential primary.
“Voters should not be misled about how our elections function,” Hobbs said in a statement. “The owners of social media platforms must take responsibility for safeguarding their audiences against the spread of false information, and this includes stopping their own AI mechanisms from generating it.”
Senate Bill 5152, requested legislation from Hobbs, created Washington’s first limitations on using deepfakes in political campaigning in 2023. The law requires disclosure of any manipulated videos, and gave candidates targeted by undisclosed deepfakes the right to sue for damages.
In response to Grok’s false ballot deadlines, Hobbs and Secretaries of State from Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico and Pennsylvania sent a public letter to Musk on Monday calling for Grok to direct voters seeking election information to the National Association of Secretaries of State’s Can I Vote webpage as administrators of AI chatbot ChatGPT and AI research organization OpenAI do.
“These bad actors can and will sow distrust with our local elections,” Hobbs said in a statement. “If something you see raises questions about your access to a fair and trustworthy election here in Washington, please visit a legitimate elections office and learn the truth.”
Hobbs recommended voters use these trusted sources:
- The Office of the Secretary of State’s elections website includes important election deadlines, printable PDF registration forms and more.
- Washington county election offices provide ballots upon request and help voters make changes to their registration.
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