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New law on digital alteration of campaign media comes into play with Mike Braun ad

Mike Braun speaks at a lectern. Behind him is a backdrop with his campaign logo dotted across it. Braun is a White man, balding with dark gray hair. He is wearing a dark suit coat and a light-colored shirt.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun's attack ad against Democrat Jennifer McCormick manipulated a photo of a McCormick campaign rally into a false image.

Indiana’s new law governing how political candidates digitally alter campaign materials has come into play with Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun.

Braun released an attack ad against Democrat Jennifer McCormick that manipulated a photo of a McCormick campaign rally into a false image.

A 2024 law, HEA 1133, requires ads that do that to include a disclaimer. Braun’s video initially didn’t; it was added later on.

But the new law doesn’t ban campaigns from manipulating photos. Daniel Weiner, Brennan Center for Justice elections and government program director, said that’s not necessarily a bad thing — he supports targeted bans of AI, and digital alterations and manipulations in campaign materials.

“For instance, AI of an election official telling people to vote on Wednesday,” Weiner said. “I don’t think that sort of communication has any redeeming value and I think it probably should be prohibited.”

READ MORE: What do I need on Election Day? The general election is Nov. 5

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Weiner said it can be hard to identify altered images and videos without a disclaimer. He advises voters to check other sources before believing what they see in a single ad.

“If something seems implausible or if it seems like it’s getting an extreme emotional reaction from you, it’s always good to take a breath and stop and think,” Weiner said.

Indiana's law allows candidates who were depicted in AI-generated media without the disclaimer to file a civil lawsuit against the people who paid or sponsored it.

McCormick’s campaign called Braun’s ad a “dishonest distraction.”

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.