Why not take quotes out of context the old fashioned way: by having someone read them in a scary voice?
Is an AI-generated video of a politician technically a deepfake if the words they’re saying are their own?
By any reasonable definition, yes, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee published just such a deepfake of Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on its X account on Friday:
Week 3 of the Schumer Shutdown:
« Every day gets better for us. » pic.twitter.com/1qeNKhvcfI
Senate Republicans (@NRSC) October 17, 2025
The ad, which is labeled as AI-generated, depicts Schumer saying six words he did actually say: “Every day gets better for us,” but the quote originally comes from a text interview with Schumer published in Punchbowl News. After saying these words in the video, Schumer’s digital mouth peels into a nightmare grin like Jim Carrey in The Grinch.
