The national, state, and local midterm elections in 2026 present a significant challenge for middle and high school students: the ability to distinguish authentic political content from increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence.
AI Deepfakes Already Influence Voters
A new report from the Center for National Security Studies and the Herbert Institute for Public Policy indicates that Americans overwhelmingly fail to recognize synthetic content. Researchers found that AI-generated deepfakes can influence political opinion as effectively as authentic media, yet the public remains ill-equipped to identify them.
This capability was demonstrated in early 2026 during the primary election season. A pro-Trump super PAC known as MAGA Kentucky released attack ads during the primary cycle. These ads falsely depicted U.S. Representative Thomas Massie in a fabricated dinner meeting with progressive Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.
The technology has advanced to a point where deepfakes on YouTube are difficult for even experts to discern by simply watching. Experts note that campaigns can now cheaply produce fake photographs, cloned voices, fabricated quotations, and massive quantities of superficially credible content.
One of the first highly publicized AI ad campaigns occurred in 2024 during a governor’s race in North Carolina. A private businessman created the campaign, which heavily manipulated the voice and image of Republican candidate Mark Robinson. His opponent, Democrat Joel Stein, criticized the manipulation as inappropriate.
Another concept gaining attention is “cognitive surrender,” which describes what happens when users believe without question what they see, relinquishing their critical thinking skills when encountering AI content. As AI companies push more powerful technology into the consumer market, this surrender seems increasingly likely.
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Generative AI allows creators—including PR firms, social media influencers, foreign agents, and disaffected taxpayers—to make a candidate say or do anything. Pollster Lee Miringoff observed that the potential for AI to spread misinformation is not just a theoretical possibility but a current reality.
Experts suggest that educators must move beyond simply teaching students to “spot AI fakes.” As the technology improves, visual tells become less dependable. Instead, students should be taught to investigate political content by asking who made it, where it came from, and what evidence supports it.
One of the most effective strategies for checking credibility is lateral reading, where students leave the post and search for evidence from credible sources rather than staying on the page. Students can also survey well-respected fact-checking sites to see if they have reviewed specific political advertising for deceptive practices. This approach helps students understand that misinformation is not synonymous with AI, as authentic media can also be used deceptively.
Resources for Educators
Teachers can access specific tools to help students evaluate political content. Common Sense Media offers a lesson titled “Are Deepfake Videos a Threat to Democracy?” This lesson includes a teaching video that introduces the topic to grades 6 through 12. PBS Newshour Classroom also provides a 50-minute lesson plan for the same grade range. This plan teaches students how bad actors use AI to spread misinformation and offers practical strategies for detection.
Additional resources include the MIT Media Lab project Detect DeepFakes. This project allows users to test their ability to identify fake images and videos. The Digital Inquiry Group’s Sam Wineburg urges schools to teach the Civic Online Reasoning Curriculum. This approach helps students combat the rise of manipulated content. Stanford University’s Teaching Commons offers a faculty Artificial Intelligence Teaching Guide. This guide is useful for middle and high school teachers seeking to understand AI’s role in persuasion.
Practical Strategies for the Classroom
AI suggests that educators should not teach students merely to “spot AI fakes.” As the technology improves, visual tells become less reliable. The most durable skill is teaching students to investigate political content. This approach turns AI literacy into civic and media literacy.
