[A large number of AI campaign ads “bombard” the U.S. midterm elections] October 26th, as the November 3 congressional midterm elections approach, a large number of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated campaign ads that researchers call “spam propaganda” appear on U.S. television and social media. Many of the advertisements attack campaign opponents and are not labeled as being generated by AI. It was reported on the 26th that the "Wesley Media Project" organization, which tracks US elections, said it had identified 220 political ads nationwide that were at least partially generated using AI tools, with a total cost of more than $137 million. By comparison, the group identified less than $50,000 in AI-generated ad spending during the 2024 election cycle. The organization said that 81% of these AI-generated ads were sponsored by Republican candidates or groups, 12% were sponsored by Democrats, and the remainder were sponsored by independent candidates or groups. However, because it is difficult to fully count, the overall number of AI political ads is largely underestimated. (CCTV News)