AI-made images and video make it harder to trust what you see online

In short: More posts and political ads now use AI-made or AI-edited images, video, and audio, and that makes it harder to know what evidence is real.

What's going on

AI tools can create convincing photos, videos, and voices from scratch. They can also change real material, like swapping a face, altering a scene, or editing audio. The result is not only more fakes, it is also more doubt around real evidence.

A CNN analysis published on Oct. 2, 2026 shows how common this has become in political advertising. It found political groups spent more than $16 million on TV ads that disclosed using AI-generated or manipulated images from January through mid-September. CNN also estimated at least $38 million more was spent on ads that appeared to use AI imagery without saying so.

This uncertainty is made worse by a problem sometimes called the “liar’s dividend.” When fake media is common, people can more easily claim a real recording is fake. At the same time, real photos and videos can still mislead if they are old, selectively edited, or shared with a false caption.

What to watch

Tools that try to detect AI are not final proof. They produce a score, and results can change depending on how the file was made or edited. New “provenance” standards like C2PA can add signed information about where a file came from and how it was changed (like a receipt attached to a photo), but they do not guarantee the story is true.

For regular people, the best habit is simple: look for the earliest source, check whether trusted outlets have confirmed it, and pause before sharing if it is designed to provoke a strong reaction.

Source: NYTimes