The heated Republican primary between Congressman Thomas Massie and Ed Gallrein in the northern Kentucky district now features super PAC attack ads deceptively depicting each candidate with artificial intelligence-derived videos.
Called “deepfakes,” the AI videos are increasingly common in political ads around the country. The new ads in Kentucky come despite a state law passed last year intended to regulate their usage against political candidates.
Allies of Massie and Gallrein have both criticized the deepfake ads and blamed each other for them, though they were created by PACs independent of their campaigns. Both PACs attempt to portray the opposing candidate as insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump, who endorsed Gallrein and rallied for him in March.
The new ad attacking Massie from MAGA KY PAC shows a fake video of him holding hands with Democratic congressional members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar as they check into a hotel, implying they go into a room together. The first words on the screen read “Thomas Massie caught in a throuple!”
In white letters at the bottom of the ad, which includes faked CCTV footage and tabloid-style photos, it states “This satirical ad was created with artificial intelligence.”
After appearing at a KET debate Monday, which Gallrein snubbed, Massie said the ad attacking him is “beyond the pale” and called it a sign of desperation.
“It's always the losing campaign that does the crazy crap, and that is so ridiculous that I think it could backfire on them,” Massie said. “It's frankly an insult to older voters who don't know that AI exists. They're going to look at that and think that's actually me going on a date with AOC and Ilhan Omar and checking into a hotel together. It's so ridiculous.”
A month ago, Gallrein was also falsely depicted in an ad by Kentucky 4th PAC, which supports Massie. In an AI-generated video, a scared Gallrein flees from a Trump rally and, in another clip, Gallrein appears to flee from a battlefield as Trump shoots at unseen enemies. It does not include any apparent disclosures that AI was used.
“Trump was in the foxhole,” the narrator says, “Woke Eddie Gallrein tucked his tail and ran.”
A spokesperson for Gallrein shared a statement from a veteran who called the ad attacking him an “insult to all veterans” and called on Massie to apologize and take it down. Gallrein is a retired Navy SEAL and Massie did not serve in the military.
“Gallrein continued to move to the sound of the guns for three decades yet Mr. Massie and his Democrat backers created his recent Disneyland AI cartoon to call a decorated combat veteran a coward and traitor,” said Col. Walter Herd of Simpsonville. “Creating such a made up lie is the act of cowardice and treachery that Mr. Massie's cartoon really highlights his own.”
Both ads in question were paid for and distributed by independent PACs, and the decision to pull them from airwaves cannot be made by candidates’ campaigns.
Kentucky lawmakers passed bipartisan legislation to limit the use of AI and “synthetic media” depicting a candidate’s image or voice in election materials in 2025; only a few Republicans, largely those aligned with the liberty wing of the party, voted against the legislation at the time. The law does not include criminal penalties or even prohibit the deepfakes of candidates, but it allows a candidate to sue for an injunction if a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure is not included in the ad.
“If the campaigns believe the ads violate the law, they have the ability to file a civil complaint with their circuit court,” said a spokesperson for GOP Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman.
On X, former Georgia Rep. Margorie Taylor Greene leapt to Massie’s defense, alleging the ad appearing to show him in a relationship with Democratic congresswomen violates the federal Take It Down Act. However, it is unclear if the ad fits the definition of “non-consensual intimate imagery,” which is prohibited under the law.
“Thomas Massie should sue the 3 Israel FIRST billionaires funding woke Eddies campaign and everyone involved in making this fake video and everyone who puts it out,” Greene posted.
The MAGA KY super PAC that ran the anti-Massie ad is largely funded by a few billionaires like hedge fund manager Paul Singer and casino magnate Miriam Adelson. The PAC has spent $4.5 million on attack ads against Massie since last summer.
The anti-Gallrein ad, meanwhile, was financed by the Kentucky 4th PAC. Its funders are still unknown, as it reported no spending or fundraising by the March 31 deadline of the Federal Election Commission. The group didn’t file a statement of organization under March 16 and has spent nearly $2 million on attack ads against Gallrein since the beginning of April.
Attack ads using deepfake videos are increasingly common across the country. In Texas, an AI attack ad from GOP Sen. John Cornyn depicted his primary opponent and Attorney General Ken Paxton riding in a car with two alleged mistresses.
