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Assume a surprising election video, voice message, text or donation appeal is unverified until you check its exact claim with your state or local election office. Deepfakes now include synthetic video, audio, images, text and fabricated news sites. The FBI, CISA and ODNI have warned that such material can be used to confuse voters, suppress participation and inflame divisions. Do not share, reply, click or pay while you verify.
What an election deepfake can look like
A deepfake is manipulated or AI-generated content presented as authentic. In election coverage, that may mean a fabricated candidate video, a cloned voice message, an altered photograph, an invented news article or a fake site designed to resemble a real newsroom or government page. A post does not have to be technically perfect to cause harm: a clipped real video, a false caption or an old recording placed in a new context can mislead voters just as effectively.
CISA advises voters to understand generative-AI tactics and verify claims through trusted official sources before sharing. A polished appearance is not evidence of authenticity, and visible glitches are not reliable proof that something is fabricated.
Use this verification sequence before acting
- Pause. Save the post, message or voicemail. Do not use the link, phone number or payment instructions embedded in it.
- Write down the exact claim. Record the alleged date, polling place, eligibility rule, voting method, candidate statement or money request. Vague impressions are harder to check than a specific assertion.
- Check the authoritative source. Start with your state or local election office. For general U.S. voting information, the FBI points voters to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission at eac.gov and the federal guide at usa.gov/how-to-vote. Rules for registration, early voting, mail ballots and identification vary by jurisdiction.
- Check provenance and context. Find the earliest upload, the complete video or transcript, the date and location, and the original account. An emotional clip or cropped screenshot is a reason to investigate, not proof either way.
- Corroborate independently. Look for confirmation from the relevant election office or several established outlets that identify their sources. Do not treat repeated copies of the same post as independent confirmation.
- Verify a person through a known channel. If a message claims to come from a candidate, election worker, family member or colleague, call a number you found independently. Caller ID can be spoofed.
- Reject pressure. Urgency, secrecy, threats and demands for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or payment-app transfers are classic impersonation-scam signals.
- Preserve and report. Keep the URL, screenshots, caller number, message headers and timestamps. Report suspected election crimes to the FBI or local election officials. Report consumer impersonation fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How to examine suspicious video, images and text
Start with the account, date and full file
Check whether the account is an official candidate, party, government or newsroom account, and whether its handle and web address are spelled correctly. Search for an earlier upload and a longer version. Compare the claimed date and location with the event schedule and statements from the appropriate election office. A real recording can be misleading when it is reposted with a false date or caption.
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Treat technical clues as clues only
Unnatural mouth movement, odd hands, inconsistent lighting, abrupt audio changes or a strange writing style may justify a closer check, but none is a dependable authenticity test. AI generation methods change quickly, and ordinary compression or editing can create similar artifacts. Read the transcript, not just the caption, and distinguish a verified original from an anonymous re-upload.
Do not let a detector or watermark make the decision
The FTC says detection, watermarking and authentication systems have limitations and can be bypassed; there is no single technical solution. A detector result should be treated as one signal and corroborated by an authoritative human source. Compare any tool by its false-positive risk, transparency, update cadence and ability to handle new generation methods.
Voice cloning makes calls and voicemails especially persuasive
The FTC says a short audio clip can be enough to create a convincing voice clone. A scammer may imitate a candidate asking supporters to donate, an election worker requesting personal information, or a relative claiming to need emergency help. The voice can sound familiar even when the caller is not the person it claims to be.
“Don’t trust the voice. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story.” — Federal Trade Commission consumer advice, April 8, 2024
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End the conversation and use a trusted number from an official website, prior correspondence or your own contacts. Never rely on caller ID. Do not disclose a one-time code, banking detail or account password, and do not move money because a caller creates a deadline.
Common voting-logistics scams
| Message you receive | Why it is suspicious | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “Election Day has moved” or “polls close tonight.” | False dates and deadlines can keep eligible voters from participating. | Confirm the date and hours with your state or local election office. |
| “You are no longer eligible” or “you must register again through this link.” | Eligibility and registration rules are jurisdiction-specific; an unsolicited link may harvest data. | Use the official election portal you locate independently. |
| “Vote by text” or send your ballot by replying to this number. | The FBI specifically identifies claims that people can vote by text as election misinformation. | Check the lawful voting methods published by your election office. |
| “Pay a fee to receive or fix your ballot.” | Election offices do not use surprise gift-card, cryptocurrency or wire-transfer demands to process a ballot. | Stop contact, keep the message and report it. |
| “Donate immediately through this QR code or payment app.” | Impersonators exploit urgency and unusual payment methods. | Navigate to a campaign’s or committee’s independently verified official site before donating, and verify the request through a known contact. |
How to weigh competing sources
When a viral post conflicts with an official notice, assess both against the same criteria:
- Authority: Is the source the state or local election office responsible for the rule?
- Independent corroboration: Do unrelated, established sources report the same fact?
- Provenance: Can you identify the original file, account, date and location?
- Completeness: Are you seeing the full recording and transcript rather than a clipped segment?
- Jurisdictional fit: Does the claim match the voting rules where you live?
- Pressure: Is the message trying to force immediate sharing, payment or disclosure?
The source that answers these questions with verifiable evidence deserves more weight than one that merely looks professional or has been reposted widely.
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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 cover impersonation fraud broadly, not election scams alone, but they show why a familiar name, logo or voice cannot substitute for independent verification.
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In a November 4, 2024 joint statement, the FBI, ODNI and CISA said: “In light of continued influence efforts by foreign adversaries and the increasing volume of inauthentic content online, CISA recommends voters seek out information from trusted, official sources, in particular, state and local election officials.”
What to preserve when you report
- Original post or message URL, including the account name
- Screenshots or screen recordings showing the content and timestamp
- Caller ID number, voicemail file and any callback number
- Payment instructions, wallet addresses, QR codes or transaction records
- Your notes on when you received it and what the sender claimed
Report election-related crimes to the FBI or your local election officials. Use the FTC’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov for consumer impersonation scams. Reporting without reposting limits the scam’s reach while giving investigators useful evidence.
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