{"id":2345510,"date":"2024-09-24T19:31:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mark-robinson-faces-novel-attack-from-parody-group-backing-ai-satire-ads-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-24T19:34:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:34:00","slug":"mark-robinson-faces-novel-attack-from-parody-group-backing-ai-satire-ads-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mark-robinson-faces-novel-attack-from-parody-group-backing-ai-satire-ads-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Robinson faces novel attack from parody group backing AI satire ads &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmark-robinson-faces-novel-attack-from-parody-group-backing-ai-satire-ads-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2345510&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new ad campaign spearheaded by \u200dthe\u200c group Americans for Prosparody \u200cis targeting North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson,\u2062 the Republican nominee for governor. This \u2064initiative utilizes\u2063 a $1 million blend of comedy, satire, and artificial intelligence to engage disenchanted voters and highlight \u2064Robinson&#8217;s controversial statements regarding race and\u200c gender. The ad, described as\u2063 the first AI-generated political \u2062satire campaign of its kind, began airing on various television\u2063 networks\u200c in North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Todd Stiefel,\u2062 founder of Americans\u200c for Prosparody, aims to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taxpayer-funded-voice-of-america-runs-story-claiming-disinfo-will-spark-election-violence\/\" title=\"Taxpayer-Funded &quot;Voice of America&quot; Runs Story Claiming Disinfo Will Spark Election Violence\">ease political tensions<\/a> through humor, \u200dbelieving \u2063it can draw attention to serious issues \u2064related to Robinson&#8217;s past remarks. The campaign\u2062 also includes a satirical website mocking Robinson&#8217;s views, referred to \u2062as the \u201cMark Rottenson Governot\u201d initiative.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson&#8217;s campaign has rebuffed the ad as a smear tactic, accusing Stiefel of deception and dismissing the AI-generated content as misleading. In light of recent accusations against\u2064 Robinson regarding\u2063 past inappropriate comments, which have also swayed crucial support among Republican leaders, this \u2062campaign raises significant stakes in the upcoming gubernatorial race. The\u2062 strategies being employed signal a shift in political advertising, \u2062as groups experiment with AI to influence voter perceptions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Mark Robinson faces novel attack from parody group backing AI satire ads<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1764881\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Americans for Prosparody is hoping a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-dumps-another-million-into-alaska-to-save-murkowski-after-ditching-arizonas-blake-masters\/\" title=\"McConnell Dumps Another Million Into Alaska To Save Murkowski After Ditching Arizona\u2019s Blake Masters\">million-dollar ad campaign<\/a> using a controversial blend of comedy, satire, and artificial intelligence can turn disengaged voters against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-carolina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>North Carolina<\/a> Lt. Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mark-robinson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mark Robinson<\/a>, the Republican nominee in the state&rsquo;s gubernatorial race.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Democratic-leaning political action committee&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/300-mayors-will-ask-biden-to-give-legal-working-status-to-10-million-invaders\/\" title=\"300 mayors are calling on President Biden to provide legal working status to 10 million migrants\">groundbreaking initiative marks<\/a> the first time it has reserved air time on TV and created a long-form AI-generated ad, which launched in North Carolina on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<p>Todd Stiefel, a Democratic donor and founder of Americans for Prosparody, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> he believes his <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AmericansForPP\/status\/1838595888471503132\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>one-minute video<\/a> has the ingredients to make politically disinterested people &ldquo;let their guard down&rdquo; and engage with Robinson&rsquo;s controversial comments on Jews, blacks, and women.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People let their guard down with humor and actually listen to enjoy the jokes. And in our case, they&rsquo;re letting down their guard to listen to real things this guy has said and done. So I absolutely believe that humor can be used to reach people who normally are just tuning everything out,&rdquo; Stiefel said during a phone call Tuesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The TV ad is reaching a variety of voters as it has been distributed on state TV news stations, Fox News, Newsmax, ESPN, and other channels in an effort that launched on the airwaves Tuesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be all over the place in North Carolina,&rdquo; Stiefel said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A.I. Mark Robinson invites you to check out just a few of Real Mark Robinson&#8217;s deranged beliefs.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AkWJyFNhO8\">https:\/\/t.co\/AkWJyFNhO8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Americans For Prosparody (@AmericansForPP) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmericansForPP\/status\/1838595888471503132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Americans for Prosparody is dedicated to &ldquo;impact[ing] elections by running parody campaigns that lampoon despicable and anti-democratic politicians and institutions,&rdquo; according to its website. Its current focus is on running the so-called &ldquo;Mark Rottenson Governot&rdquo; initiative, which is a satirical website dedicated to mocking Robinson&rsquo;s alleged &ldquo;extremist views.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The ad, which makes it clear that it uses AI, may be geared to provide comedic political commentary, but one person&rsquo;s not laughing: the Robinson campaign&rsquo;s communications director, Mike Lonergan. <\/p>\n<p>Lonergan knocked Stiefel&rsquo;s ad as a &ldquo;smear&rdquo; campaign full of&nbsp; &ldquo;fake AI clips&rdquo; in comments to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is shown at his home in Colfax, North Carolina, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Robinson will serve as North Carolina&rsquo;s first black lieutenant governor. (AP Photo\/Gerry Broome)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lonergan called Stiefel a &ldquo;far-left liberal and longtime Democrat Party and Stein campaign donor&rdquo; and claimed that he &ldquo;is a well-documented liar who has been sued by the SEC and factory workers for fraud and already busted for creating fake AI clips to lie to the voters about Mark Robinson.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Stiefel admitted he is backing Robinson&rsquo;s Democratic challenger, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, but argued his AI clips are above board.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are using this in a very over-the-top, direct, straightforward way,&rdquo; he claimed. <\/p>\n<p>While states, including California, are <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GavinNewsom\/status\/1836188721663873324\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>cracking down<\/a> on &ldquo;k&#8203;&#8203;nowingly distribut[ing] an ad or other election communications that contain materially deceptive content,&rdquo; Stiefel is confident his video exercises full transparency.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A full-screen Disclaimer stating, &ldquo;A.I. technology was used in this ad. The images and voice are not real, but these are all things GOP nominee for governor Mark Robinson has said and done&rdquo; is played during the first five seconds of the video. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Stein appeared to denounce Stiefel&rsquo;s tactics in a February<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wral.com\/story\/mark-rottenson-website-lampoons-gop-candidate-with-controversial-techniques\/21305423\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> statement<\/a> to <em>WRAL News<\/em><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><em>,<\/em>&nbsp;even though&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wral.com\/story\/fully-ai-generated-political-tv-ad-takes-aim-at-north-carolina-governor-s-race\/21629401\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he&nbsp;<\/a><\/span>received thousands in donations from the founder of Americans for Prosparody.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to Stein&rsquo;s campaign for comment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein walks to speak at a campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo\/Nell Redmond)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The organization&rsquo;s new ad campaign against Robinson comes at a particularly vulnerable time for the gubernatorial hopeful. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/09\/19\/politics\/kfile-mark-robinson-black-nazi-pro-slavery-porn-forum\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>CNN report<\/a> released last week accused Robinson of making sexually graphic and racist comments on a pornographic site over a decade ago. Although he has denied the allegations and pressed forward with his campaign, the news cost Robinson vital support. <\/p>\n<p>Two powerful Republican governors, one of them<span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">&nbsp;Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN), who heads the Republican Governors Association, confirmed Monday that they&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3163824\/gop-gubernatorial-leaders-kemp-lee-pull-support-robinson-allegations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">would no longer back<\/a>&nbsp;Robinson<\/span>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even before the damaging CNN report, Robinson faced criticism for controversial remarks he had made over the years. Americans for Prosparody was one of the groups the North Carolina Republican blamed for fueling what he deemed to be &ldquo;salacious tabloid lies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I wanted to take a minute to address the latest outrageous lies coming from my opponent&rsquo;s dishonest campaign: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ncgov?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ncgov<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ncpol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ncpol<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RtteVUiozr\">pic.twitter.com\/RtteVUiozr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mark Robinson (@markrobinsonNC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/markrobinsonNC\/status\/1836841409388642512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to get into the minutia of how somebody manufactured these salacious tabloid lies, but can tell you this: There&rsquo;s been a $1 million spend on me through AI by a billionaire&rsquo;s son who&rsquo;s bound and determined to destroy me,&rdquo; Robinson said in a CNN interview.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Stiefel said Robinson was referencing him.<\/p>\n<p>Americans for Prosparody launched in March and created a billboard campaign poking fun at Robinson days before the North Carolina Republican won the GOP gubernatorial primary. At that time, Stiefel said he had &ldquo;about 22 billboards&rdquo; up across the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The organization is self-funded by Stiefel, who is aiming to spend two million dollars on his media campaign against Robinson before Election Day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The gubernatorial race in North Carolina was competitive prior to the explicit report. While it is unclear whether Robinson can change the momentum, Stiefel is hopeful his campaign targeting disengaged voters can erase critical margins of support for the North Carolina Republican.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a really entertaining merger of comedy and political advertising in a way that is informative to voters,&rdquo; he said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1764881\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1764881\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Robinson is targeted by a parody group using AI ads<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2345511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/MR.-1-2.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[41640,36091,41641],"class_list":["post-2345510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-ai-satire","tag-mark-robinson","tag-parody-group"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/MR.-1-2.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2345510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2345511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2345510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2345510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2345510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}