The National Conference of State Legislatures counted 31 U.S. states with laws regulating election-related deepfakes as of late June 2026.

Overview Debates Related claims Topics Sources

A 2025 NewsGuard study found that five leading Chinese AI models, including Qwen, repeated or failed to correct pro-Chinese disinformation in 60 percent of test cases

In the June 2026 New York Democratic congressional primary, Alex Bores, architect of New York's state AI regulation law, was defeated after Leading the Future contributed $8 million toward his opponent

Colorado Representative Manny Rutinel and California Representative Scott Wiener, architects of state-level AI regulation, were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 3, 2026 with support from Public First

In the November 3, 2026 elections, Forty-three U.S. cities passed ballot measures restricting local data center development in their communities

OpenAI plans to propose state legislation and community compacts giving local residents a direct voice in data center development and economic benefits

Texas Governor Greg Abbott halted new data center approvals pending an audit of planned projects after facing backlash in rural communities, while Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa proposed a moratorium on new facilities

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro shifted from declaring Pennsylvania 'all in on AI' in 2025 to advocating for regulatory guardrails on data centers in 2026

Morgan Stanley public policy research head Ariana Salvatore stated that state governors hold explicit power over data center construction and investment approvals

A CNN analysis found that over $16 million went to television political ads disclosing AI content through mid-September 2026, while at least $38 million was spent on unlabelled television political ads

Pennsylvania's AI advertising disclosure law exempts content limited to text, material that is evidently fictional, and content constituting parody, satire, commentary, or criticism

Under Pennsylvania's Act 99 of 2026, courts can impose civil fines of up to $3,000 plus attorney fees and court costs for running deceptive AI-generated advertisements.

Pennsylvania's Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act requires advertisements using significantly modified or generated synthetic content to display clear disclosures in the same medium as the ad.

Federal judges struck down state laws regulating deceptive election deepfakes in Hawaii and California on constitutional and federal preemption grounds.

Political campaigns and outside groups spent over $137 million on AI-generated or enhanced political ads during the 2026 U.S. midterm elections through October 11, 2026, according to the Wesleyan Media Project.

Pennsylvania's AI advertising disclosure requirement applies to eligible advertisements regardless of where they were produced if they are expected to run in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania State Senator Nick Pisciottano introduced the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act in June 2025.

The Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 806 by a 48 to 2 vote in June 2026, and the House passed it 163 to 40 on October 7, 2026.

The Pennsylvania Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act authorizes the state attorney general or district attorneys to seek injunctions or file civil actions against non-compliant advertisers.

Pennsylvania's Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act takes effect 60 days following its October 22, 2026 enactment, falling on December 21, 2026.

Wesleyan Media Project research found that only 27% of identified AI political advertisements during the 2026 U.S. midterm cycle contained disclosure labels.