NRCC stands by AI-generated ad showing Jamie Ager dancing with Asheville drag performers

Mixed · 2The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has defended an AI-generated attack ad that depicts Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager dancing with Asheville drag performers at a barn dance. 1 2 Mixed · 2The NRCC paid for the ad, and Republican candidate Jennifer Balkcom approved it. Ager and Balkcom are competing in the 3 November election for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. Balkcom is a member of the North Carolina House, and Ager is a first-time candidate. 1 2 Left · 1The ad's narrator says: "Jamie Ager talks like you and me on TV, but he's dancin' with they/them." According to The Independent, the ad shows Ager's own barn decked out in pride flags, a child gawking at the performers, and ABBA's "Dancing Queen" playing. 2

Mixed · 2The drag performer Nova (Nova Jynah) says her likeness was used without permission. She told The Washington Post she recognised her own dress, wig and makeup, and The Independent reports the ad appears to draw on a photo she shared online months earlier. She told local outlets she had never met Ager or visited his property. Another performer shown, Divine Holeburn, also said she had never met him and that "this barn dance event was not real". 2 1 Mixed · 2Nova and other Asheville performers issued cease-and-desist letters. WYFF4, cited by Newsweek, reported that Nova and Holeburn gave the NRCC and Balkcom campaign until 2 November to stop using their likenesses or face possible legal action. 1 2 Centre · 1NRCC spokesperson Reilly Richardson told Newsweek the committee stands by the ad. He accused Ager of hosting events that exposed children to inappropriate performances by performers including Sister Domina Trix and Sister Helen Bedd. Richardson also told Spectrum News 1 that North Carolina law does not require disclosure of AI use in political ads and that the NRCC complies with it. 1

Mixed · 2Ager called the ad "100 percent fake AI generated lies" in a social media statement, using a profanity to describe it. His campaign said Balkcom "can’t win on the truth, so she is using AI to lie." 1 2 Mixed · 2The ad and the NRCC's comments appear to refer to a six-hour, fantasy-themed festival held in May 2019 at Ager's family business, Hickory Nut Gap Farm. Newsweek reports that the event's public listing advertised the drag and advocacy group Beer City Sisters but did not name the two performers the NRCC cites. A News & Observer fact-check found the NRCC gave no evidence that either named performer attended, and an Ager campaign spokesperson told WYFF4 the group did not attend. The Independent, citing local reports, says the 2019 dance was advertised as featuring drag queens but the drag queens did not show up. 1 2 Centre · 1First Amendment attorney Mike Tadych told WLOS that Nova could potentially pursue a misappropriation claim over the use of her likeness, but cautioned that political ads enjoy substantial First Amendment protection. 1