A Texas judge is facing criticism after posting a campaign video featuring AI-generated Black people praising his leadership.
The footage has prompted accusations that it misrepresented voters and raised questions about whether it used real people’s likenesses without their consent.
Daniel Wong, the Republican interim Fort Bend County judge seeking a full term in the Nov. 3 election, shared the video on Facebook Friday.
The clip featured six Black characters thanking Wong for helping them find jobs, obtain food and pay their electricity bills. His campaign later removed the video from its social media accounts.
Dexter McCoy, the Democratic county commissioner challenging Wong, condemned the video. He argues that its portrayal of Black residents reinforced stereotypes about their needs and political support. He also alleged that the AI-generated characters resembled real Wong campaigners.
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“Stealing the faces of ordinary people to fake support from Black voters is racist, vile and flat-out wrong,” McCoy said. He accused Wong of using artificial intelligence to create the appearance of support he had not earned and questioned whether the Republican was prepared to lead one of Texas’ most diverse counties.
Wong’s campaign denied producing the video, claiming an outside supporter created it and shared it with the campaign. In a statement posted Saturday, the campaign also accused McCoy of making the controversy about race rather than addressing his opponent’s record.
The dispute has intensified scrutiny of AI-generated political content as campaigns increasingly use the technology to create digital advertisements and social media posts ahead of elections.
The video featured Black people offering testimonials about Wong’s personal assistance, including help finding jobs and paying household expenses. One character said Wong helped them “at my worst time.” The video also contained apparent visual errors, including misspelled text on a hat bearing Wong’s name and illegible lettering on a roadside sign.
McCoy alleged that the images were based on real people who worked for Wong’s campaign. According to his account, campaign workers had been asked to submit selfies when checking in for shifts at polling places. He said they then used those images to create AI-generated versions of the workers making statements they had not agreed to deliver.
“Unfortunately, those images that were taken to make a video, folks were made to say things that they never consented to do,” McCoy said. “They were completely exploited in this sort of situation, and that’s disgusting.”
The Wong campaign did not directly answer whether it used photographs of its workers. Instead, it said the video was created by a “Democrat” and passed along to the campaign.
“The video that has purportedly stirred ‘outrage’ among Democrats was actually created by a Democrat,” the statement said. “It was shared with the campaign, but it was not produced by the campaign. It has now been removed from the campaign’s social media platforms.”
The campaign then criticized McCoy’s record as county commissioner, accusing him of missing meetings, skipping budget hearings and refusing to support a tax-rate reduction. It also accused McCoy of playing the “race card” by criticizing Democrats who support Wong.
McCoy rejected the attempt to shift responsibility to someone outside the official campaign.
“As a leader, you accept responsibility for anything that you or your organization does,” he told FOX 26. “The buck stops with you as a leader. And for Daniel Wong to try to shift blame, it’s what we have come to expect.”
Bobby Eberle, Wong’s communications director, offered more details about the campaign’s account of the video. He said he spoke with the person who created it and was told the individuals depicted allegedly gave permission for their likenesses to be used.
“I talked to the creator of the video today, and he told me that he received consent,” Eberle said. “Obviously, it’s AI-generated, we all know that, but he said he received consent from those people. They are supporters, and like I said, what I’d love to do is make a real video with them in it.”
McCoy said he wants the Fort Bend County district attorney to investigate whether the incident warrants criminal scrutiny.
The campaign has not publicly identified the person it says created the video.
Wong’s original caption thanked those featured in the video for believing in him and supporting his campaign. After criticism spread online, the campaign removed the post.
The controversy comes as candidates across Texas and the country experiment with AI-generated images, audio and video.
Texas has enacted restrictions on certain deceptive political deepfakes distributed within 30 days of an election. However, those restrictions alone do not establish that Wong’s video violated the law. No formal complaint had been received by the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, according to FOX 26.
Other Texas political campaigns have also faced scrutiny over AI-generated ads. Reports have highlighted advertisements targeting Democratic candidates, including James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin. Some featured fabricated or exaggerated scenarios, fueling debate over AI in political advertising and the line between satire and misleading content.
Liam Mayes, a media studies expert at Rice University, said audiences may recognize that a digitally created scene isn’t real while still letting it reinforce existing beliefs about a political candidate.
“My sense is that many of the people who see those ads recognize that James Talarico, in real life, didn’t say the words that he’s saying in the ads,” Mayes said. “But it can still confirm some sort of larger belief they have about him and can still be an effective piece of political propaganda.”
Mayes said the speed of AI development makes it hard to draw clear boundaries around its political use. He also criticized the alleged presentation of AI-generated likenesses as genuine endorsements.
“That to me seems like deeply unethical behavior,” Mayes said.
Wong was appointed interim Fort Bend County judge in April after former Judge K.P. George was suspended following his felony money-laundering conviction. His appointment sparked a legal dispute with County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson, who challenged his authority to remain in office.
Wong sued Smith-Lawson, and she later filed her own legal action seeking to remove him. A judge ruled in August that Wong could continue serving. He is now campaigning for a full term against McCoy.
