A magician from New Orleans says a Democratic consultant paid him to create fake robocalls of President Biden.
Paul Carpenter claims he was hired by Steve Kramer, who was employed by Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips, to create the robocalls using artificial intelligence, NBC News reported. The calls were made just days before the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary and told voters not to vote.
Rep. Phillips, Minnesota Democrat, is the only remaining Democrat running against President Biden, who easily won the New Hampshire primary.
“I created the audio in the robocall. I did not distribute it,” Mr. Carpenter told the outlet. “I was in a situation where someone offered me some money to do something, and I did it. There was no malicious intent. I didn’t know how it was going to be distributed.”
The magician showed the outlet how he made the fake audio and said he came forward because he regrets getting involved and wants to warn people about how AI can be used. Venmo payments revealed that he was paid $150 to create the fake audio that cost him no more than $1.
Phillips campaign spokeswoman Katie Dolan said in a statement, “If it is true that Mr. Kramer has any involvement in the creation of deepfake robocalls, he did so of his own volition, which had nothing to do with our campaign.”
She added, “The fundamental notion of our campaign is the importance of competition, choice and democracy. We are disgusted to learn that Mr. Kramer is allegedly behind this call, and if the allegations are true, we absolutely denounce his actions.”
Mr. Kramer, who has functioned in other campaigns, stopped working for Mr. Phillips in mid-February, but not before he earned almost $260,000 in December and January, campaign filings show.
He told NBC News that he will be posting an op-ed Saturday that “will explain all.”
Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Kramer met through a mutual acquaintance, and Mr. Kramer became interested in the magician’s experience with AI.
A criminal investigation into the call was announced this month by the New Hampshire attorney general’s office. The Federal Election Commission issued cease-and-desist letters to two companies alleged to be the ones that distributed the fake calls.