Sen. Klobuchar Denies Deepfake Claims, Proposes No Fakes Act

Senator Amy Klobuchar has strongly denied statements attributed to her in a viral deepfake video where she appeared to praise actress Sydney Sweeney's breasts and insult fellow Democrats. The AI-generated video, which circulated widely online and garnered over a million views, showed Klobuchar using vulgar language and making disparaging remarks about Democrats, though she insists she never made those comments. In response, Klobuchar penned an op-ed in The New York Times emphasizing the dangers of deepfakes and calling for legislation to protect individuals from the misuse of their likenesses, proposing the NO FAKES Act to empower people to demand removal of such content from social media platforms. She highlighted the difficulty in detecting such realistic AI fabrications and criticized social media companies for insufficient action, noting TikTok removed the video while Facebook added a label, and X took minimal steps. The deepfake referenced a controversial American Eagle ad featuring Sweeney that had sparked backlash, but Klobuchar clarified her genuine commitment was to data privacy and combating misinformation, not the fabricated comments. Her case underscores growing concerns about AI misinformation and the urgent need for legal safeguards.