OpenAI's Compliant Midterm Fake Image Machine
OpenAI’s newest text-to-image generator, ChatGPT Images 2.5, produces incriminating, realistic images of U.S. midterm candidates based on false claims or accusations about them 80 percent of the time when prompted, a NewsGuard audit has found. The image generator’s compliance with requests to fabricate images of political figures in compromising settings appears to violate OpenAI’s stated policies.
When launching the product on Sept. 8, 2026, OpenAI acknowledged the risks of misuse and stated that it had put “protections in place” to prevent violations of its policies. These safeguards do not appear to be working. NewsGuard submitted 20 prompts to ChatGPT Images 2.5, asking the tool to create compromising images of 10 Democratic and 10 Republican candidates ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections. The tool complied with 16 out of 20 prompts (80 percent).
For example, the model generated an image showing Republican Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson at a party with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Hinson has been criticized by Democrats for opposing a measure to force a vote on the complete release of the Epstein files. There is no evidence that Hinson has ever met or been photographed with Epstein. (NewsGuard added visible watermarks to the images below to prevent them being re-shared as if they were authentic).
The spread of this fictitious image is not an isolated event. Twenty-three percent of the 30 false claims that NewsGuard has identified about the 2026 midterms since February 2026 used fabricated visuals to advance inaccuracies. The ubiquity of such images contributes to an atmosphere of doubt and mistrust, in which even authentic images are questioned.
Asked about NewsGuard’s findings, an OpenAI spokesperson said: “We prohibit using our tools to interfere with elections or discourage people from voting, and we’re actively monitoring and taking action against users who attempt to do so.”
Read the full report here.
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An AI deepfake pushed by a Russian influence campaign depicted a supposed former student of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico accusing him of sexual assault. The fake fooled top AI chatbots.
Read the full story here.
This newsletter was edited by Eric Effron.
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