An AI-powered bot army on X spread pro-Trump and pro-GOP propaganda, research shows
An army of political propaganda accounts powered by artificial intelligence posed as real people on X to argue in favor of Republican candidates and causes, according to a research report out of Clemson University.
The report details a coordinated AI campaign using large language models — the type of AI that powers convincing, human-seeming chat bots like ChatGPT — to reply to other users.
While it’s unclear who operated or funded the network, its focus on particular political pet projects with no clear connection to foreign countries indicates it’s an American political operation, rather than one run by a foreign government, the researchers said.
As the November elections near, the government and other watchdogs have warned of efforts to influence public opinion via AI-generated content. The presence of a seemingly coordinated domestic influence operation using AI adds yet another wrinkle to a rapidly developing and chaotic information landscape.
The network identified by the Clemson researchers included at least 686 identified X accounts that have posted more than 130,000 times since January. It targeted four Senate races and two primary races and supported Trump’s re-election campaign. Many of the accounts were removed from X after NBC News emailed the platform for comment. The platform did not respond to NBC News’ inquiry.
GOP donors pour hundreds of millions into pro-Trump super PACs before Election Day
Republican megadonors are opening up their checkbooks — and not being shy about the number of zeros they write — to help Trump and other Republicans as Harris’ fundraising operation breaks records.
Major pro-Trump super PACs pulled in more than $200 million from major Republican donors over the summer, according to new campaign finance filings, including Miriam Adelson (the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and the wife of the late casino executive Sheldon Adelson), Tesla CEO Elon Musk, venture capitalists Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz, former Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter, shipping magnate Dick Uihlein and more.
And that massive total doesn’t include fundraising by the main pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc., which will file its fundraising reports by Sunday.
Adelson gave $95 million to Preserve America, a super PAC she has almost entirely funded, during the third fundraising quarter, after having given the group $5 million in the previous quarter. Preserve America has spent $97 million already on television and digital ads criticizing Harris.
Musk, who has been increasing his public political presence in recent weeks amid his full-throated endorsement of Trump, gave $75 million last quarter to America PAC, a group that has spent more than $100 million to support Trump.
Trump says 'nothing' was done wrong on Jan. 6 when confronted by Republican voter
At the Univision town hall, Trump repeated his argument that nothing was done wrong on Jan. 6, 2021.
"Nothing done wrong. And action was taken — strong action. Ashli Babbitt was killed. Nobody was killed. There were no guns down there," he said when he was asked why someone should support him after the insurrection.
"We didn’t have guns. The others had guns, but we didn’t have guns. And when I say we, these are people that walked — this was a tiny percentage of the overall, which nobody sees and nobody shows. But that was a day of love. From the standpoint of the millions," he continued.
Trump made a similar comment in an interview with Bloomberg News yesterday. “Some people went to the Capitol, and a lot of strange things happened there,” he said. “A lot of strange things, with people being waved into the Capitol by police, with people screaming ‘Go in’ that never got into trouble.”
The House impeached Trump over his involvement in the attack on the Capitol.
Trump defends comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield
At a Univision town hall in Miami, Trump defended his comments about Haitian immigrants’ eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, telling voters he was “just reading people’s reporting.”
His comment was in response to a question from an undecided GOP voter about whether Trump actually believed the conspiracy theory he spread about Springfield's immigrant community.
“I was just saying what was reported, that’s been reported, and eating other things, too, that they’re not supposed to,” Trump said.
Then, he pivoted to suggesting that migrants have brought other problems to Springfield, like overcrowding or overconsumption.
“If you were a person that lived there, if you lived in Springfield, Ohio, and all of a sudden you couldn’t get into a hospital, you couldn’t get your children into a school, you wouldn’t be able to buy groceries, you could no longer pay the rent, because the government’s paying rent. Any of that, if any of that happened, it would be a disaster for you, and you wouldn’t be happy,” he said.
Harris bashes Trump for calling himself 'the father of IVF'
While leaving Detroit, Harris told reporters that it was "quite bizarre" that Trump referred to himself as the "father of IVF" at his women's town hall.
"What he should take responsibility for is that couples who are praying and hoping and working towards growing a family have been so disappointed and harmed by the fact that IVF treatments have now been put at risk," she said.
Trump and GOP leaders in Congress have expressed support for in vitro fertilization after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, which state Republicans and Democrats joined to reverse.
Asked to respond to Harris' comment, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said "the father of IVF" comment was "a joke President Trump made in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF as he strongly supports widespread access to fertility treatments for women and families."
Senate candidate Ruben Gallego says he doesn't believe Republican Kari Lake would accept an election loss
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., gaggled with the media after he dropped off his ballot at a drop box in Phoenix this morning. NBC News asked Gallego whether he’s confident his Republican opponent, Kari Lake, will accept the results of the election.
“I trust the people of Arizona are saner and smarter than Kari Lake when it comes to the results of the election,” said Gallego, who was holding his baby daughter during the interview.
“I don’t believe she’s going to accept the loss,” Gallego said of Lake.
Gallego said his strategy to keep voters confident is direct communication. “I’ll talk to them directly, and we’ll make sure that we do everything we can to restore confidence,” he said.
Asked what he makes of Lake’s casting doubt on voting by mail in Arizona, Gallego said: "This is just a typical Kari Lake spreading misinformation. Our vote-by-mail system is perfectly safe."
Reached for comment today, a Lake campaign spokesperson said, “Ruben Gallego called Trump an 'illegitimate' president in 2017 and when President Trump & Kari Lake win this November, he’ll probably call them both illegitimate too."
At their Senate debate last week, Lake deflected a question about admitting “once and for all” that she lost her 2022 race for governor. “Can I talk about water?” Lake said, referring to a previous question that was asked.
Lake has been questioning her loss in the 2022 election for the last two years.
Health care fraudster Philip Esformes is latest Trump clemency recipient to be arrested
Philip Esformes, whose 20-year prison sentence for a massive, $1.3 billion Medicare fraud scheme was commuted in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump, was arrested over the weekend in Florida on domestic violence-related charges.
Esformes is at least the seventh person who received executive clemency from Trump and has since been charged with new crimes, according to The New York Times, which first reported this latest arrest.
In August, a convicted New York drug dealer and predatory lender named Jonathan Braun, whose 10-year prison term Trump commuted in 2021, was charged with assaulting his father-in-law and his wife in separate incidents.
Court records show that Esformes was arrested Saturday and then charged with tampering with a victim or witness, and with criminal mischief involving property damage.
Harris campaign releases new ad targeting Latino voters
Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign is continuing to invest resources in targeting Latino voters, releasing a new advertisement today that features the vice president speaking directly to the nation’s second largest ethnic or racial group.
The new ad, titled “Hard Work,” is narrated by Harris herself. In it, the democratic candidate touts her middle-class upbringing and elements of her “Opportunity Economy” agenda.
“So I get it, you’re out there working hard for your families, but some corporations take advantage of crises to unfairly raise prices on everyday needs. That makes it harder to live, to raise a family,” Harris said in the advertisement. “Donald Trump is focused on the billionaires and corporations. But as your president, I’ll work for you.”
“Hard Work” will air in markets across the battlegrounds states, with an emphasis on high-viewership events and shows, including high-ranked telenovelas, MLB championship games, Liga MX, LaLiga and the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards. It’s part of the campaign’s $370 million investment in TV and digital reservations until Election Day.
The new ad comes as Trump attempts to court Latino voters through a Univision town hall today. Harris participated in her own town hall with the network last week.
Jimmy Carter has voted by mail
Officials from the Carter Center say the 39th president, Jimmy Carter, has voted by mail today in Georgia.
During his speech at the Democratic National Convention, his grandson Jason Carter said his grandfather was looking forward to voting for Harris.
"She reminds us all that the promise of America remains unchanged. We are one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all, and my grandfather knows that with her as our next president, we will keep that promise," Jason Carter said at the time.
The former president turned 100 on Oct. 1.
Trump says he asked Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama to explain IVF to him
During a women's town hall on Fox News in Cumming, Georgia, Trump referred to himself as "the father of IVF," but added that he asked Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to explain what in vitro fertilization was during a phone call.
"I said explain IVF very quickly, and within about two minutes, I understood it," Trump said. "I said, no, no, we're totally in favor of IVF."
He said the call took place after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created through IVF are considered children.