In the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, voters are being targeted by deepfake messages, allegedly from President Biden, urging them not to participate in the upcoming vote.
The voice, mimicking Biden's, has been quoted by NBC News as saying, "What a bunch of malarkey... save your vote for the November election." The message further suggests that voting on Tuesday would only aid the Republicans in their mission to re-elect Donald Trump, asserting that the real impact of the voters' choice would be felt in November, not this Tuesday.
The call concludes by directing listeners to Kathy Sullivan, the former Chairwoman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, who is currently leading a super PAC committed to encouraging voters to write in Biden's name on Tuesday's ballot. Due to a scheduling conflict between state officials and the Democratic National Committee, Biden's name will not appear as an option in the New Hampshire primary. The state declined to comply with the DNC's proposal to allow South Carolina to hold the first primary election on February 3, as per Granite State law, its primary must precede all other states by at least a week.
The Write-in Biden campaign has been mobilizing grassroots organizers to encourage voters to manually enter Biden's name, in an effort to prevent any potential embarrassment for the President on Tuesday from competitors like Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and Marianne Williamson. Aaron Jacobs, a spokesperson for the Write-In Biden campaign, condemned the deepfake messages, stating, "This is deep fake disinformation designed to harm Joe Biden, suppress votes, and damage our democracy. It is being referred to law enforcement so that they can determine who is responsible and bring them to justice."
Despite the disinformation campaign, Biden is currently leading in New Hampshire with an average support of 62.7%, according to RealClearPolitics, while Phillips trails with an average of 10.7%. In the 2020 election, Biden finished fifth in New Hampshire before revitalizing his campaign with a significant victory in South Carolina.
The Biden campaign, which is not associated with the write-in effort, also denounced the deepfake messages. Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the Biden-Harris campaign manager, stated that the matter has been referred to the New Hampshire Attorney General and that the campaign is considering additional actions. She emphasized that any attempts to spread disinformation to suppress voting and deliberately undermine free and fair elections will not be tolerated.
The Phillips campaign, while claiming no additional knowledge of the calls beyond what has been reported, expressed its disapproval of any attempts to discourage voters, labeling it as a disgraceful affront to democracy. They also voiced their concern over the potential use of AI to manipulate voters.
When asked about the robocalls, a representative for former President Donald Trump told The Post, "not us, we have nothing to do with it."
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