We’ve tracked $80M of spending on almost 170 AI-generated political ads this year – it’s weird

Almost 170 ads and $80 million in spending and only 31% with a disclaimer: Here’s what researchers found when they tracked AI in this year’s campaign ads.

By: Travis N. Ridout, Washington State University; Erika Franklin Fowler, Wesleyan University, and Michael Franz, Bowdoin College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 5, 2026

Words: 1,141

Last Updated: 1 week, 4 days ago

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By Travis N. Ridout, Washington State University; Erika Franklin Fowler, Wesleyan University, and Michael Franz, Bowdoin College

The 2026 U.S. midterm campaigns are the first in which AI-generated political ads are regularly appearing on people’s televisions and social media feeds.

We are researchers who have been studying political advertising through the Wesleyan Media Project since 2010. This election cycle – using data from media reports, student coders and AdImpact, a firm that …

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