Former New York City Council Candidate Jonathan Rinaldi Allegedly Used AI to Create False Endorsements and Fabricated News Reports
Queens prosecutors alleged that former City Council candidate Jonathan Rinaldi used AI during his 2025 campaign to manufacture the appearance of political support through posts made to resemble authentic endorsements and news coverage. The material reportedly attributed backing to public figures and institutions that had not provided it and falsely claimed that opponent Lynn Schulman had withdrawn. Rinaldi was charged with forgery and possession of forged instruments.
- Date it happened
- 2025-01-17
- Organisation involved
- political candidates, political campaigns, Jonathan Rinaldi
- Product, system or model
- Synthetic video generation technology, Synthetic media generation technology, Sora, Social media platforms, Instagram, Image generation technology, Gemini, Facebook, Face-swapping technology, Deepfake
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