Drag artist in Asheville claims artificial intelligence was used in campaign ad

Nova, a drag artist living in the Asheville area, announced that artificial intelligence-generated images of them were used in an election advertisement targeting Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager.

In a 30-second commercial prepared by Republican congressional candidate Jennifer Balkcom's campaign, Jamie Ager is seen at a barn dance with drag artists. Nova stated that this incident never took place, that they had never met Ager before, and that they had never attended a barn dance in their life.

Nova sent a cease-and-desist letter to Balkcom's campaign team but has not yet received a response. Meanwhile, Balkcom's campaign team confirmed that the ad was produced by them and defended it by accusing Ager of hosting events not suitable for children. The incident once again brought to light the fact that North Carolina does not have a law mandating the disclosure of artificial intelligence use in political advertisements.