Under the glare of Hollywood's limelight, Sydney Sweeney exudes youth and charm, but scandal often knocks on her halo, thrusting her image into darkness. When American Eagle launched its playful advertisement featuring Sweeney, showcasing their concept of "good jeans," it quickly sparked an explosive wave of backlash. This outcry not only engulfed the actress in controversy but also swept in numerous public and political figures, including Senator Amy Klobuchar, drawing fierce criticism from all corners of social media. Even artificial intelligence joined the fray, amplifying the disturbing content, further fueling the heated debate surrounding the campaign.

Where does pop cultural criticism end when it comes to the bottomless pit of AI deepfakes?

Senator Amy Klobuchar came out with an op-ed in The New York Times to deconstruct a deeply false impression of her involving Sydney Sweeney's highly controversial American Eagle ad, making rounds on the internet. Klobuchar said she never uttered outrageous comments against Sydney Sweeney having "perfect ti---" or that Democrats are "too ugly to go outside." Contrarily, she deemed the deepfake AI-generated video featuring Klobuchar at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on data privacy, which went viral, racking up over a million views, "vulgar and absurd." Klobuchar, however, highlighted the fact that the video seemed excessively disturbing and too real in terms of both appearance and tone.

Klobuchar went on to explain in the article how she could assess the manipulation in real life but was still "helpless" to stop its dissemination instantly. Social media platforms gave her mixed responses when it came to taking action. For instance, TikTok moved fast to take down the material immediately, and Meta flagged it as AI-generated. However, X provided no actual aid beyond suggesting that she request a Community Note. Klobuchar also lamented the internet's "endless appetite" for controversial content, warning that the deepfake creators "aren’t going to stop at Sydney Sweeney’s jeans."

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At the center of this AI deepfake controversy lies a greater problem that needs to be legally addressed, even better, eradicated, per the Senator.

Recently, a fake video generated using artificial intelligence about Sydney Sweeney's "good jeans," American Eagle's ad tagline, which was accused of unnerving eugenic connotations, caused mayhem on the internet. The ad's unusual reception made it a controversy magnet, and the deepfake took advantage of the ongoing outrage by weaponizing Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar's image. The video featured a bizarre version of Klobuchar with her voice, objectifying Sweeney's body, and comparing the Republicans' ads with those of Democrats, in tandem with reports of Sweeney's association with the Republican party.

Klobuchar, in the clip, was made to call the Democrats "the party of ugly people...too fat to wear jeans or too ugly to go outside," in comparison to Sweeney's blonde hair and blue eyes. The senator used the situation to urge quick reforms, advocating the bipartisan No Fakes Act, which would give people the power to request deepfakes created by AI be taken down without compromising protected speech. Meanwhile, undeterred by the odd controversy, Sweeney keeps her eyes on the prize with several A-list projects on her way.

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What are your thoughts on the Senator's reaction to the deepfake video and the wild outrage behind Sydney Sweeney's ad? Tell us in the comments below.