City Hall Launches Deepfake Marathon: Schumer and Jeffries Star in “When Politics Meets Photoshop”
New York City Hall unveiled its cutting-edge propaganda initiative Wednesday: a comprehensive deepfake video series featuring Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying whatever the mayor’s office wishes they’d said. The project, titled “When Politics Meets Photoshop,” represents what officials call “innovative constituent communication” and what literally everyone else calls “extremely concerning digital manipulation of public figures.”
The White House launches deepfake marathon Schumer Jeffries star in when politics meets Photoshop apparently inspired Mayor Adams’ team to pursue similar tactics locally, discovering that creating fake videos of real politicians is much easier than actually accomplishing anything requiring their cooperation. The deepfakes range from “suspicious but plausible” to “obviously fake but we’re pretending it’s not.”
“We’re exploring new frontiers in political communication,” explained City Hall’s newly created “Digital Reality Enhancement Director” Marcus Webb, a title that definitely doesn’t sound dystopian. “Rather than waiting for Senator Schumer to actually say supportive things about our initiatives, we’re streamlining the process by making him say them through advanced AI. It’s efficient.”
The deepfake library includes videos of Schumer praising Adams’ budget decisions, Jeffries endorsing controversial police policies, and both leaders enthusiastically supporting initiatives neither has actually endorsed. Production quality varies wildlysome videos are sophisticated enough to fool casual viewers, while others feature uncanny valley facial movements and dialogue like “I, Chuck Schumer, definitely real and not AI, support thing.”
“Is this ethical? That’s a great question we’ve chosen not to examine,” Webb continued. “Is it legal? Probably not in the way we’re doing it. But is it happening? Absolutely. And that’s what matters in modern politicsnot legality or ethics, but whether you can get away with it before anyone stops you.”
City Hall released its first batch of deepfakes Tuesday evening, featuring Schumer and Jeffries discussing how much they “love and support” various Adams administration policies. Within hours, observers noted the senators’ lips didn’t quite match their words, their eyes had the lifeless quality of digital rendering, and they kept referring to the mayor as “our beloved leader Eric Adams, the greatest mayor in history,” which neither politician would say even under duress.
Schumer’s office responded with a tersely worded statement: “That is not Senator Schumer. That is a computer-generated nightmare wearing his face. Please stop.” Jeffries’ team echoed similar concerns, adding “this is illegal” and “we’re consulting lawyers.” City Hall dismissed these objections as “resistance to innovation.”
“Look, we asked them to make these statements naturally,” Webb explained. “They refused, citing things like ‘disagreement with policy’ and ‘basic honesty.’ So we found a workaround. That’s problem-solving.”
The deepfake project reportedly cost $800,000 in taxpayer money, funds critics suggest could have addressed actual city needs rather than creating digital puppets of federal lawmakers. Adams defended the expenditure, noting that real political capital requires actual political skills, while deepfake capital requires only budget allocation and moral flexibility.
When pressed about the legality of creating fake videos of real politicians without consent, Webb argued the videos include tiny disclaimers that flash for approximately 0.3 seconds, which he insists constitutes adequate disclosure. Legal experts disagree, noting that “extremely brief fine print doesn’t make fraud legal,” but City Hall remains undeterred.
The initiative expands next month to include deepfakes of other politicians, celebrities, and possibly regular citizens who’ve criticized the mayor, because apparently there are no limits once you abandon ethics entirely. Adams called the project “the future of political communication,” a future that looks suspiciously like dystopian fiction but with worse special effects.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/white-house-launches-deepfake-marathon-schumer-jeffries-star-in-when-politics-meets-photoshop/
By: Annika Steinmann.
