Democracy Dies in Darkness

Deepfake of North Carolina lawmaker used in award-winning Whirlpool video

North Carolina state Sen. DeAndrea Salvador discovered her 2018 TED Talk had been altered by an ad agency working for Whirlpool in Brazil, leading to a lawsuit.

7 min
DeAndrea Salvador gives a 2018 TED Talk on how to reduce energy costs. (Lawrence Sumulong/Getty Images)

When DeAndrea Salvador began receiving emails in June from people in Brazil, the North Carolina state senator assumed they were part of a phishing scam. The emails, first to her senate office and then to her campaign, had subject lines like “Is this you?” and “AI manipulation.”

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