The Mississippi U.S. Senate race has drawn fresh scrutiny over digital campaign tactics after Republican state Attorney General Lynn Fitch intervened to force the Democratic nominee to remove an advertisement generated using artificial intelligence.
Late last week, Democratic candidate Scott Colom announced his campaign would delete the digital ad, which had been online for several weeks. The controversial video featured an artificial intelligence-generated depiction of his Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, hurrying away from reporters—a behavior the ad’s creators sought to highlight based on previous public encounters.
The removal followed a formal complaint letter sent by Fitch, who asserted that the digital spot likely violated state election integrity laws. In her statement released on Friday, Fitch warned that the attorney general’s office was prepared to seek an injunction against Colom’s campaign if the video was not taken down immediately.
Fitch’s office also noted that potential violations of the state’s election integrity law carry criminal penalties, prompting the attorney general to formally request that Colom and his campaign preserve all records related to the matter to prevent any obstruction of justice.
Colom defended his campaign’s initial use of the advertisement while confirming its removal, stating that he chose to comply to prevent taxpayer funds from being tied up in litigation initiated by the attorney general’s office. He further criticized his opponent and her allies, arguing that the legal pressure was an attempt to distract voters from substantive policy debates.
“She is clearly desperate, and her allies are attempting to weaponize the justice system to distract from the real issues, which is that she has sold out our farmers, sold out our small businesses, and sold out our families,” Colom said.
