U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is threatening legal action against a dark money group for running an attack ad against her using artificial intelligence.
In the recent ad, the American Exceptionalism Institute PAC calls Blackburn “the queen pharma mama” in an AI-generated spoof of a pharmaceutical ad. The ad shows businessmen exchanging briefcases of money while a jingle sings, “Our pain-killing pills wouldn’t sell, so we paid Sen. Marsha Blackburn to pass our bill.”
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In a letter to the American Exceptionalism Institute, Blackburn demands that the ad be taken down within 48 hours and that the PAC disclose the use of AI, in keeping with a new state law that banned AI from political ads without a disclosure to voters that the footage isn’t real. Congressional candidates have skirted the law, arguing that state law doesn’t apply to federal races.
A spokesperson for Blackburn told WPLN News that two TV stations have already pulled the ad.
“The advertisement’s assertions are completely false,” the letter said. “Sen. Blackburn has never accepted a bribe to pass legislation, nor has she ever been accused or investigated for allegedly doing so. The advertisement includes no substantiation for any of its claims.”
The ad doesn’t mention Blackburn’s run for governor or support another candidate in the race. Instead, it asks voters to call a number and ask Blackburn to stop “selling out Tennessee.”
The ad references a 2016 law that Blackburn sponsored, which made it easier for patients to receive pain medication but also made it harder for the DEA to inspect suspicious shipments of powerful narcotics like oxycodone. A joint investigation by The Washington Post and 60 Minutes found that her legislation “aided” in the explosion of the opioid epidemic.
The measure was written by a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The investigation notes that Blackburn had taken $120,000 in campaign contributions from the drug industry, which spent more than $100 million overall lobbying lawmakers during the passage of the Brentwood Republican’s bill.
At the time, Blackburn’s office said that Congress could revisit the “unintended consequences” of the legislation.
This ad comes nearly a decade later, as Blackburn leads the GOP race for governor. The PAC behind the ad was officially terminated more than a year ago, according to FEC records, and has not filed disclosures with federal or state campaign finance organizations since.
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