AI Deepfakes are compromising our democracy— felony prohibition needed urgently

I am writing to urge Congress to enact an immediate and comprehensive federal prohibition on the creation, distribution, publication, funding, or use of AI-generated deepfake political attack advertisements that depict political opponents in fabricated video or audio. I am not asking for disclosure requirements. I am not asking for narrow election windows. I am asking for prohibition. Democracy cannot function if citizens lose confidence that the evidence before them is real. For most of American history, voters could assume that video and audio carried at least some presumption of authenticity. That assumption is disappearing. Generative AI now allows anyone with modest resources to create convincing fabricated footage of candidates appearing to confess crimes, endorse policies, express prejudice, threaten violence, or engage in conduct that never occurred. The danger is not limited to whether a disclaimer appears at the bottom of the screen. Once a fabricated image enters public consciousness, it becomes persuasive on its own. Corrections travel slower than outrage. Retractions rarely erase emotional impact. Even disclosed fabrications normalize a political environment in which reality itself becomes negotiable. If voters can no longer trust what they see or hear, elections become contests of fabrication rather than persuasion. Congress should establish a bright-line national standard that: • Makes it a federal felony to knowingly create or distribute synthetic audio or video falsely depicting a political candidate, elected official, or campaign for the purpose of influencing public opinion or electoral outcomes. • Extends liability to campaigns, PACs, consultants, contractors, and funders that knowingly participate. • Includes meaningful prison sentences and escalating penalties for repeat, coordinated, or large-scale violations. • Creates expedited federal enforcement authority and immediate injunctive relief. • Allows private rights of action for candidates and citizens harmed by deceptive synthetic political media. Free speech protections are essential and must remain strong. But fabricated evidence presented as reality is different from opinion, criticism, satire, or ordinary political advocacy. The state already recognizes categories of deception and fraud that threaten public order and institutional legitimacy. Our election system should receive the same protection. We should not wait until a presidential election is permanently clouded by fabricated video before acting. Congress should move now to create severe and unmistakable consequences for political deepfakes and preserve a shared foundation of observable reality.