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paul vallas
Primary Season Is Here, But Still No FEC Action on Campaign Deepfakes
A consumer advocacy group warns that deceptive images generated by AI are "one of the biggest threats to our elections."
Jan 16, 2024
As consumer advocacy group Public Citizen marked three months since the Federal Election Commission closed its public comment period on regulating artificial intelligence-generated "deepfake" images in election ads, the group on Tuesday questioned whether the FEC itself is "just a computer-generated illusion."
"Do we have a real Federal Election Commission?" asked Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, eight months after the group submitted its first petition asking the FEC to establish new rules banning deepfakes in campaign materials.
The organization and AI experts have repeatedly warned that "generative A.I. now poses a significant threat to truth and democracy as we know it," with campaign teams capable of altering images to show political opponents falsely appearing to say things they haven't said or appear at events they never attended.
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign circulated fake images of former President Donald Trump embracing former White House Coronavirus Task Force chief Anthony Fauci last June, days after the FEC rejected Public Citizen's first petition.
Trump's reelection campaign has also distributed audio clips featuring deepfaked voices of DeSantis and Adolf Hitler, while former Chicago Democratic mayoral candidate Paul Vallas last year condemned a "deceptive impersonation video" that appeared to portray him making comments supporting police violence.
"The entire political world knows that a torrent of fraudulent deepfakes threatens to destabilize our fragile election system—maybe even decide elections—but so far the FEC hasn't managed to use its existing authority to head off the problem," said Weissman.
After Public Citizen submitted two separate petitions to the FEC last year, the commission announced in August that it would advance the group's request for rulemaking, opening a 60-day comment period. The group called on the FEC to clarify the meaning of "fraudulent representation" and make clear that political campaigns will be held accountable for using "deliberately deceptive AI-produced content."
As the comment period was set to close in October, Public Citizen reiterated its demand that the FEC clarify "whether and how deepfakes in campaign communications are covered under the law against 'fraudulent misrepresentation' (52 USC § 30124)."
In December, with no sign from the FEC that it would take any further action to establish new rulemaking, University of Washington AI expert Oren Etzioni told the Associated Press that with increasingly powerful and widely available AI technology that allows virtually anyone to create a deepfake video, photo, or audio clip, he expected "a tsunami of misinformation" in the 2024 election cycle.
"You could see a political candidate like President [Joe] Biden being rushed to a hospital [in a false video]," Etzioni told the AP last month. "You could see a candidate saying things that he or she never actually said."
Federal lawmakers including Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have introduced legislation to regulate the use of AI in federal elections, but not in state or local races.
Barring all political campaigns from using AI-generated images and audio clips is "just a matter of choosing democracy over fraud and chaos," said Weissman.
"It's time, past time," he added, "for the FEC to act."
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'A Win for the History Books': Brandon Johnson Defeats School Privatizer in Chicago
"Tonight is the beginning of a Chicago that truly invests in all of its people," Johnson said in his victory speech.
Apr 05, 2023
Progressive Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson defeated conservative Democrat and school privatizer Paul Vallas in Chicago's mayoral runoff on Tuesday, a victory he called a "gateway to a new future" for the nation's third-largest city.
"Tonight is the beginning of a Chicago that truly invests in all of its people," Johnson said in his victory speech, pledging to help usher in "a city that actually respects the workers who keep it running" and one "where public schools have the resources to meet the needs of every child."
Education policy quickly emerged as a central issue in the contest between Johnson and Vallas, which the progressive won with just over 51% of the vote.
A former public school teacher and longtime union organizer, Johnson vowed to prioritize investments in public education and oppose charter expansions—an agenda that couldn't have contrasted more sharply with that of Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and an ardent supporter of school privatization.
Vallas, whose campaign was backed by Republican donors and business interests, aggressively pursued school privatization schemes during his tenure as the head of school districts in Chicago, New Orleans, and Philadelphia—a record that Johnson's campaign spotlighted in an ad that aired this week as well as in debates ahead of Tuesday's vote.
"My opponent talks about school closures," Johnson said during one debate. "Well, he set up the market for schools to be closed. He got so good at it, he went around the country doing it."
Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement late Tuesday that the Chicago runoff marks "a win for the history books."
"Brandon Johnson just defeated a deluge of far-right money and misinformation thanks to people power and his positive vision for a safe and thriving Chicago," Mitchell added. "Now comes the hard work of building a Chicago for the many, with strong schools, good jobs, and safe communities," Mitchell added. "We look forward to working with Brandon and the new class of Working Families alder members to reopen mental health clinics, pass universal childcare, and implement a local Green New Deal."
\u201cTonight, we have shown the world the power of hope, the strength of organizing, and the might of our collective voice.\n\nTomorrow, the real work begins. We will build a safer, stronger Chicago that reflects the hopes and dreams of every one of us \u2014 together.\u201d— Brandon Johnson (@Brandon Johnson) 1680667897
In contrast to Vallas, whose campaign was also backed by a super PAC with close ties to former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the bulk of Johnson's support came from unions such as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).
"Make no mistake about it," Johnson said in his victory speech, "Chicago is a union town."
Stacy Davis Gates, president of the CTU, said in a statement that "today, Chicago has spoken."
"Chicago has said yes to hope; yes to investment in people; yes to housing the unhoused, and yes to supporting young people with fully-funded schools," said Gates. "It is a new day in our city."
AFT President Randi Weingarten called Johnson's win "a transformational moment" that "sends a message that efforts to exploit anxiety will not work in the face of a multiracial, multiethnic, multigenerational working-class movement standing together as one."
Johnson's upset win Tuesday capped off a remarkable rise for a progressive lawmaker who was polling at just over 3% in December. At that time, according to one survey, Vallas was polling at 19%.
In January, Chicago's outgoing mayor, Lori Lightfoot, brushed aside the CTU's endorsement of Johnson, saying: "Brandon Johnson isn't going to be the mayor of this city."
During his remarks Tuesday night, Johnson gave a nod toward those who dismissed his chances.
"They said this would never happen," he told a crowd of supporters. "If they didn't know, now they know."
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Ahead of Chicago Runoff, New Ad Spotlights 'Trail of Destruction' Left by Paul Vallas
"We've literally seen this man destroy public education, sadly for Black and Brown children," said one parent.
Apr 02, 2023
With Chicago's closely watched mayoral runoff just two days away, the campaign of progressive Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson debuted an ad on Sunday featuring expert and parent testimony on conservative candidate Paul Vallas' education record, including his stints managing school districts in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.
The picture they painted was not flattering. One New Orleans parent, identified as Kevin G., said that "Paul Vallas has left a trail of destruction, everywhere he goes."
"We've literally seen this man destroy public education, sadly for Black and Brown children," he added.
Kendra Brooks, a Philadelphia parent and city councilmember, offered a similarly scathing assessment during her appearance in the ad, which the Johnson campaign said will air on broadcast and cable across Chicago until Tuesday's runoff.
"I think folks in Chicago should look at the destruction that he has left behind," said Brooks. "Money was being spent carelessly. Millions of dollars are missing, at the loss of Black and Brown communities."
Watch the two-minute spot:
Vallas' is an ardent school privatization advocate who served as CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 1995 to 2001 before moving on to head the School District of Philadelphia and the Recovery School District of Louisiana.
As The TRiiBE's Jim Daley wrote in a detailed examination of Vallas' record:
In each city, he opened charter schools, promoted military schools, and expanded standardized testing and zero-tolerance disciplinary policies. He also ran school districts in Haiti and Chile between 2010 and 2012...
Under Vallas' tenure, Philadelphia underwent what was then the largest privatization of a public school system anywhere in the country. He opened 15 new charter schools over the protests of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, who called for a moratorium on new charters in 2006.
In New Orleans, Daley continued, Vallas "immediately set to work opening more charter schools, and the trend continued after he left."
"New Orleans is now the only city in America with a school district that is entirely made up of charters," Daley noted, "something Vallas also took credit for: he wrote that he 'implemented reforms that created the nation's first 100% parental choice district, with all schools public, non-selective, and nonprofit.'"
Reshansa W., a New Orleans parent and education policy expert featured in Johnson's new ad, said that "everything about education in New Orleans is suffering" due to Vallas' reforms.
"It decimated our middle class," Reshansa added. "He wasn't right for New Orleans. He wasn't right for Philly. He will not be right for Chicago."
\u201cPaul Vallas has spent weeks lying about his "success" in cities like Philadelphia and New Orleans.\n\nBut those who suffered under his policies tell a much different story:\n\n"We have literally seen this man destroy public education, sadly, for Black and Brown children."\u201d— Brandon Johnson (@Brandon Johnson) 1680447617
The contrasts between Vallas and Johnson on education policy have become central to the April 4 contest—which, if polling is any guide, is set to be razor-close.
Despite mounting criticism of his record, Vallas has pledged to expand charter schools if elected mayor—a promise that may help explain why a super PAC with ties to school privatization zealot Betsy DeVos recently spent $60,000 in support of his campaign.
Vallas' campaign is also backed by rich investors—a class he catered to during his tenure as CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
Johnson, a former public school teacher and organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, has pledged to prioritize strengthening Chicago's public schools, which have long been badly underfunded.
ChalkBeat Chicago reported late last month that "if voters pick Johnson, his election would be the crowning achievement in a decade-long grassroots battle waged by the Chicago Teachers Union against mayoral control and many of the controversial policies that came with it, like school closures and charter expansion."
"Johnson opposes adding charter schools and closing small district schools, of which Chicago has a growing number," the outlet noted. "Johnson has talked about getting state lawmakers to ramp up funding increases to the state’s funding formula so Chicago and all districts get to so-called 'adequate funding' more quickly. He—and district officials—have also suggested pushing the state to kick in more for Chicago teachers' pensions, which have been underfunded since the mid- to late-2000s."
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