AI-generated audio clips falsely attributed to President Biden threatening to wage war against Texas were spread on social media platforms, creating misinformation about federal government intentions during border tensions.
In January 2024, AI-generated audio clips falsely portraying President Joe Biden threatening to send F-15 fighter jets to 'wage war against Texas' were shared across social media platforms including TikTok and X (formerly Twitter). The fake audio included statements like 'We're going to make sure those cowboys don't stop the surge of military-age men from entering. If we have to send F-15s to Texas here and wage war against Texas, so be it.' These videos emerged during real tensions between the Texas government and Biden administration over border access, specifically regarding a 2.5-mile section including Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. The AI-generated content was identified by TikTok as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic content. A White House spokesperson confirmed the audio was false, and fact-checkers found no evidence Biden ever made such statements. Digital forensics expert Hany Farid from UC Berkeley noted the audio showed characteristics typical of AI generation, particularly in its cadence. The incident occurred amid actual federal-state tensions over border control, with the Department of Homeland Security having sent a cease-and-desist letter to Texas officials regarding border access.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that inadvertently generate or spread incorrect or deceptive information, which can lead to inaccurate beliefs in users and undermine their autonomy. Humans that make decisions based on false beliefs can experience physical, emotional or material harms
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed