Campaigns
Republican candidate for Mass. governor uses AI-assisted ad in unregulated landscape
WBUR
“In a new twist on campaign tactics, a Republican candidate for Massachusetts governor posted on Instagram a fake radio ad that included an AI-generated version of Gov. Maura Healey's voice. Brian Shortsleeve posted the video with the caption: 'Here's what one of her radio ads might sound like - if she was honest.'”
Fundraising
Sharing [Donors] Is Caring
Medium Data
“By far the most common candidate to share donors with is Ossoff, because he has a very large number of donors. I would also guess his lists have made their way back into the Democratic ecosystem at this point, and that other candidates are fundraising from lists of Ossoff donors. He is serving as a proxy for “the Democratic donor base”, in a way...Eight candidates in this set got the *majority* of their donors from this shared pool.”
The impact of AI search during end of year (the news isn’t good)
M+R
“The median drop in unique users coming from organic search was nearly 40% in December 2025 compared to December 2024 — a bigger drop than our March–August analysis, where the YOY reductions ranged from single-digits to low double-digits. But unlike mid-2025, when website revenue seemed to be holding steady despite the AI search cliff, December website revenue was 5% down year over year.”
International
Canada's next election likely to face AI-assisted interference, watchdogs say
CBC
“Morrison said government officials had expected attempts to use AI to interfere in the last election, but did not detect it.”
Social Media
Democratic Media Strategists Confront a New Era for TikTok
Campaigns & Elections
”While it’s unclear what about the algorithm could change, some on the left have questioned whether the U.S. TikTok’s owners could use their influence to censor content they dislike or deprioritize videos critical of Trump or his administration.“
Technology
Meta drops $65 million into super PACs to boost tech-friendly state candidates
Politico
“Federal lobbying budgets for Big Tech hit record highs this year. But with federal AI regulation stalled in Washington, industry leaders are turning their attention increasingly to statehouses. In California, as in Washington, Meta has led the charge, consecutively spending more than it ever has to sway legislators.”
The Right Is Already Using AI. We’re Still Debating It.
Will Robinson
“the right is already using artificial intelligence to scale persuasion, manipulate narratives, and dominate attention. Not in the future. Now. Meanwhile, many progressives remain understandably uneasy about AI - concerned about surveillance, bias, job loss, corporate abuse, and ethical misuse.
“Those concerns are real.
But opting out is not neutral.
It is a strategic surrender.”