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

By: Travis N. Ridout, Erika Franklin Fowler, Michael Franz

Outlets: NH Bulletin

Published: October 6, 2026

Words: 951

Last Updated: 1 week, 5 days ago


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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 tracks political ad spending — we’ve tracked about US$80 million in spending on …

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