Texas: “Sylvester Turner calls for investigation into Tony Buzbee ad, citing ‘deep fake’ law”

Houston Chronicle:

Mayor Sylvester Turner has called for the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Tony Buzbee’s campaign over a television ad that appears to show edited photos of Turner and an allegedly fake text between the mayor and a 31-year-old intern who works at the airport.


The video, a 30-second spot that began airing earlier this month, highlights a recent report that found Turner signed off on a $95,000-a-year executive internship for a man the mayor initially denied knowing, despite evidence of their prior connections.


In a statement, Turner contended the video violates a section of the Texas Election Code that bars campaigns from creating “deep fake” videos, defined as an ad “created with the intent to deceive, that appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not occur in reality.”

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