(The Center Square) – Two bills have been filed in the Texas legislature that would require additional disclosures for political ads. The bills were filed after the Texas Ethics Commission expanded disclosure requirements for political ads on social media posts.
Former House Speaker state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, filed HB 366 to require disclosures on political ads that contain altered images known as “deep fakes.” State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, filed a similar bill, SB 893.
Phelan’s bill would require that certain political ads have disclosures that state that images, audio or video recordings of individuals depicted “did not occur in reality.” The bill would require the publishing, distributing, or broadcasting political advertising “that includes an image, audio recording, or video recording of an officeholder’s or candidate’s appearance, speech, or conduct” to state that it “did not occur in reality.” This includes images, audio or video recordings that were “altered using generative artificial intelligence technology.”
The bill would direct the Texas Ethics Commission to create a disclosure requirement for deep fakes. It also would create a criminal offense for violations as a Class A misdemeanor.
Johnson’s bill would amend state election code to make “creating and distributing certain misleading images and videos,” depending on the context, Class A and B misdemeanors. An offense is committed if the ad is created with the “intent to deceive with the intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election,” including creating “a deep fake video” or “altered image,” according to the bill language. “Deep fake” means the video or image “appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not occur in reality.” The bill would require the ads to have a “clear label stating that the image is altered.”
The bills were filed after Phelan defeated his challenger in bitter primary and runoff elections last year during which constituents were bombarded with hundreds of political ads in the mail, as well as television and radio ads.
One political mailer provided to The Center Square by a constituent from Phelan’s district depicts Phelan hugging former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stating, “Dade Phelan is backed by the same PAC bankrolling Pelosi!” The image is a “deep fake,” the politicians hugging in reality did not occur.
On the other side of the flyer, an image depicts Phelan standing at a podium with members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, claiming he’s a “Democratic puppet.” It depicts Phelan’s face photoshopped on the body of state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, who was actually standing at the podium during the press conference.
The ad, paid for by Club for Growth Action, depicts an event at which Phelan did not attend.
In another ad, paid for by Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC, an altered image depicts Phelan shaking hands with Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and president of China. This meeting also did not occur.
In another ad, an image of Phelan’s face is superimposed with former U.S. Rep. Robert (Beto) O’Rourke, D-El Paso, who ran against Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and lost. The ad, paid for by the Republican Party of Texas, claims Phelan was “stealing the Republican run-off.”
The Texas Ethics Commission has published a guide on political advertising, including the use of public funds for advertising and disclosure requirements.
The commission last year also unanimously adopted a rule to require so-called social media influencers to disclose that they were paid to include political advertisements on social media posts. Media outlets reported on Influencable LLC, a company that emerged in 2023 that was reportedly paying individuals claiming to be “influencers” to post political attacks against elected officials on social media platforms without disclosing that they were paid to do so.
When news broke of nondisclosed political advertising on social media, state Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, led the charge for transparency. He and others argued companies that “manufacture outrage” contributed to public discord, polarization, misinformation and weren’t part of solutions but also raised campaign finance disclosure concerns.
Those attempting to appear to skirt campaign finance or political advertising rules “calls into question the value and the validity of their entire message as an influencer,” he told the Texas Tribune. “I think they should all be investigated. I think the company should be investigated, and I think all of these influencers should be outed.”
After holding a hearing, the commission last year unanimously voted to require disclosures for political ad social media posts. Those who receive more than $100 to post or repost political advertisements on social media platforms are required to state the post is a political ad and disclose which individual or entity paid for it.
