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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteAssume a surprising election video, voice note, text or donation request is unverified until you check it with your state or local election office. Synthetic media can imitate a candidate, fabricate a news report or invent voting instructions. The safest test is not whether a clip “looks real,” but whether its claim survives checks against an authoritative election source and independent evidence.
CISA, the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have documented manufactured videos, audio, images, text and fake news sites used to erode trust and inflame political divisions. Their November 4, 2024 joint guidance urged voters to seek information from trusted official sources, especially state and local election officials.
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What counts as an election deepfake?
“Deepfake” is often used for an altered video, but federal guidance covers a much wider set of synthetic or manipulated material:
- Video showing a candidate appearing to say or do something that never happened.
- Audio, including a cloned voice in a phone call or voice message.
- AI-generated images, screenshots and documents.
- Fabricated articles or entire news sites designed to look legitimate.
- Text messages and social posts that invent election dates, eligibility rules, polling locations or voting methods.
A real recording can also be misleading if it is clipped, relabeled with the wrong date or location, or stripped of the surrounding exchange. A technically genuine file does not make the accompanying claim true.
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Why appearance is a poor authenticity test
Obvious glitches—odd hands, unnatural blinking, warped logos or a robotic voice—can justify a closer look, but their absence proves nothing. Generative systems improve quickly, and compression, cropping and re-encoding can create artifacts in genuine footage.
Automated “AI detectors” and watermarks are useful clues at most. The Federal Trade Commission has noted limitations, workarounds and false-positive risks for detection, watermarking and authentication systems; it says there is no single technical solution. Treat a detector result as one data point, never as a final ruling.
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Use provenance and official rules to check a post
Work from the claim outward. The following comparison keeps the most important checks in one place.
| Check | More credible signal | Warning signal |
|---|---|---|
| Source authority | State or local election office, established government election portal or a clearly identified campaign account | Anonymous account, newly created “news” site or an account impersonating an official |
| Provenance | Earliest identifiable upload, original file or complete transcript with a date and location | Reposted clip with no origin, unexplained edits or a screenshot that cannot be traced |
| Independent corroboration | The same event or rule appears in several unrelated, reputable sources | Only a network of matching posts repeats the assertion |
| Jurisdiction | The instruction matches the voting rules for your state or locality | A nationwide-sounding claim conflicts with your election office’s rules |
| Pressure | Provides time to verify and uses normal, independently published contact details | Demands immediate secrecy, payment or action through an embedded link or number |
A seven-step verification checklist
- Pause. Do not share, reply, click the embedded link or send money while the claim is unverified. Save the post or message first.
- Write down the exact assertion. Record the alleged election date, polling place, eligibility rule, candidate quotation or payment request. Precise wording makes checking possible.
- Start with the election authority. Check your state or local election office. The FBI also directs voters to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission at eac.gov and the federal voting-information portal at usa.gov/how-to-vote.
- Trace the material. Look for the earliest upload, full-length video, original transcript, publication date and location. A dramatic excerpt is a reason to find the complete context, not proof that it is fabricated.
- Compare the rule with your jurisdiction. Voting methods, registration deadlines and polling arrangements vary by state and locality. Reject any instruction that your election office does not confirm.
- Verify a person through a separate channel. If a message claims to come from a candidate, official, campaign, relative or colleague, call a known number you found independently. Caller ID can be spoofed.
- Preserve and report. Keep the URL, screenshots, caller number, message headers and timestamps. Report suspected election crimes to election officials or the FBI; report consumer impersonation fraud through ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How voice-cloning election scams work
The FTC says a short audio clip can be enough to produce a convincing imitation of someone’s voice. A caller may sound like a candidate asking supporters to donate, an election worker giving instructions, or a family member requesting emergency help. The voice can be convincing even when the story is entirely false.
Listen for the behavior around the voice rather than trying to identify a synthetic waveform:
- Urgency: “Pay within minutes,” “the polls are closing” or “you will lose your registration.”
- Secrecy: a demand that you not call the campaign, election office or family member.
- Unusual payment: gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or payment-app transfers.
- Untrusted contact details: a number or link supplied only in the message.
- Requests for personal data, login codes or copies of identification that the official office cannot independently confirm.
The FTC’s April 8, 2024 consumer advice is direct: “Don’t trust the voice. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story.” Use a number from an official website, a prior statement or your existing address book—not the callback information in the suspicious message.
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Election logistics are a prime scam target
False logistics can disenfranchise people without ever mentioning artificial intelligence. The FBI specifically warns about fabricated election dates, eligibility requirements, voting methods and claims that people can vote by text. A message that tells you to text your ballot, pay to “activate” registration or use a different polling place should be checked with your election office before you act.
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Do not assume a polished logo or official-looking form makes the instruction genuine. Compare every date, address and method with the government portal for your jurisdiction. If the message conflicts with that source, follow the official instruction and preserve the deceptive material for a report.
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Donation and impersonation scams have a large financial impact
Election-themed impersonation is part of a broader fraud problem. The FTC said consumers reported losing nearly $3 billion to impersonators in 2024. In a separate 2024 figure, it reported $2.95 billion in losses from business and government impersonation scams. Those totals describe reported consumer losses, not a measure of any one campaign or election, and they show why an urgent request deserves independent verification before payment.
What to do after you encounter a suspected deepfake
If you have not interacted with it
- Save evidence before the post is deleted or edited.
- Check the claim with your election office and compare independent reporting.
- Report the account or message through the platform, then use the appropriate election or consumer-fraud reporting channel.
- Do not quote-post or forward it merely to warn others; amplification can spread the false claim.
If you clicked, replied or paid
- Stop communicating through the suspicious channel.
- Contact your bank, card issuer or payment service immediately using its official contact method and ask about stopping or reversing the transaction.
- Change any password you disclosed and enable multifactor authentication.
- Preserve receipts, wallet addresses, phone numbers, emails and timestamps for investigators.
- Report consumer impersonation at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and notify your election office or the FBI when the incident involves voting, a candidate or election administration.
How to weigh technical detection tools
If you use a detector, judge the tool—not just its percentage score. Compare its false-positive risk, transparency about how it reached a result, update cadence, ability to handle newly emerging generation methods and whether a qualified human or official source corroborates the finding. A detector cannot establish the correct polling place, election date or legal rule; only the relevant authority can do that.
The practical standard is therefore simple: treat the content as unverified until its specific claim is confirmed by the election authority with jurisdiction, and do not let a convincing face, voice, watermark or detector label replace that check.
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