Senate Republicans shared a deepfake video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer designed to make it look like Democrats are celebrating the ongoing government shutdown, which has lasted 16 days.
In the deepfake, an AI-generated Schumer repeats the phrase “every day gets better for us,” an actual quote taken out of context by a Punchbowl News article. In the original story, Schumer discussed the Democrats’ health care shutdown strategy and said they weren’t going to back down from Republican threats and “bamboo”[ling].”
The shutdown comes because Democrats and Republicans can’t agree to pass a bill to fund the government until October and beyond. Democrats are trying to keep tax credits that would make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans, ensure Trump’s Medicaid cuts are reversed and block cuts to government health services.
The video was posted Friday on the Senate Republicans’ X account. According to X’s policies, the platform prohibits “misleading sharing[ing] synthetic or manipulated means likely to cause harm’. Harmful content includes media that could “mislead people” or “cause significant confusion in public matters”.
Enforcement actions include removing content, flagging warnings or reducing visibility. X has not removed the deepfake or added a warning tag as of this writing — though the video does include a watermark indicating its AI origin.
Schumer’s video isn’t the first time X has allowed political deepfakes to remain on the platform. In late 2024, X owner Elon Musk shared a spoofed video of former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the election, sparking debate about voter fraud.
TechCrunch has reached out to X for comment.
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As many as 28 states have enacted laws banning deepfakes of political figures, especially for campaigns and elections, though most do not specifically ban them if they have clear disclosures. California, Minnesota and Texas have banned deepfakes intended to influence elections, deceive voters or harm candidates.
The latest post comes weeks after President Donald Trump posted deepfakes on Truth Social depicting Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries making false statements about immigration and voter fraud.
Responding to criticism of the lack of honesty and ethics, Joanna Rodriguez, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he said: “AI is here and not going anywhere. Adapt and win or pearl clutch & lose.”
