Northern Kentucky's Republican primary is turning into a battle of fake videos and real anger, with an AI-generated ad now targeting Thomas Massie in a race against Ed Gallrein. The spot, airing through MAGA KY PAC, shows a fabricated video of Massie holding hands with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar as they check into a hotel, then flashes the line: "Thomas Massie caught in a throuple!"
Massie said after appearing at a KET debate on Monday that the ad was "beyond the pale." He said, "It's always the losing campaign that does the crazy crap, and that is so ridiculous that I think it could backfire on them," adding that it was "frankly an insult to older voters who don't know that AI exists." He said, "They're going to look at that and think that's actually me going on a date with AOC and Ilhan Omar and checking into a hotel together."
The ad also includes a disclosure saying, "This satirical ad was created with artificial intelligence." A month ago, Gallrein was the target of a separate AI-generated attack from Kentucky 4th PAC, which supports Massie, in another sign of how quickly the race has escalated beyond ordinary negative campaigning.
That earlier spot falsely depicted Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL, fleeing from a Trump rally and then running from a battlefield as Trump shoots at unseen enemies. It did not appear to include any disclosure that AI was used. Both ads were created by PACs independent of the candidates' campaigns, and both sides have accused the other of failing to show enough loyalty to President Donald Trump.
The fight is unfolding under a Kentucky law lawmakers passed in 2025 to curb the use of AI and synthetic media that depict a candidate's image or voice in election materials. The measure does not carry criminal penalties, but it does allow a candidate to seek an injunction if an ad lacks a clear and conspicuous disclosure. Trump endorsed Gallrein and rallied for him in March, giving the primary a national edge that now meets the newest and messiest tools of political warfare.
The ads may satisfy the letter of Kentucky's disclosure rules, but they show how little those rules can do once campaigns decide that the deepest hit is the one voters cannot trust at first glance. In this race, the real question is not whether the technology exists; it is whether either side can keep using it without convincing voters the whole contest has become a lie.
