A Queens political candidate was charged on Wednesday after using artificial intelligence to create fake news articles and false endorsements to bolster his campaign, in what is believed to be the first such criminal case to be brought against a politician in New York, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors on Wednesday charged the candidate, Jonathan Rinaldi, 47, who lost his bid for state assembly this week, with three counts of forgery and 15 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument for creating and posting falsified materials on social media. The charges relate to activities that occurred last year during his unsuccessful campaign for City Council.
Mr. Rinaldi did this to “advance the selfish goal of winning a City Council seat by any means,” Leann Staines, a prosecutor for the Queens district attorney’s office, said during his arraignment on Wednesday in Queens Criminal Court.
“All of this was coldly calculated to defraud Queens voters” and his political rivals, she added.
The use of artificial intelligence to target political opponents has become a growing concern across the country ahead of the November midterm elections. At least 30 states have passed laws to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in election campaigns.
In New York, a civil law took effect in early June that requires advertisements, including political ones, that feature A.I.-generated figures to disclose that they are “synthetic performers,” noting that violators will be subject to fines of up to $5,000.
Mr. Rinaldi has previously acknowledged creating false endorsements, which he posted on social media during his bid for City Hall last year. Among the fake backers were the Queens Jewish Alliance and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, a Democrat and Mr. Rinaldi’s most recent political opponent.
The criminal investigation into Mr. Rinaldi’s use of A.I. dates back to at least April, when Mr. Hevesi filed a complaint with the Queens district attorney’s office. According to the complaint, Mr. Rinaldi fraudulently changed Mr. Hevesi’s registered political party from Democrat to Working Families Party to tip the scales in his favor ahead of the primary.
Mr. Hevesi said that Mr. Rinaldi was “the only person in New York who had the motive, not to mention the means and opportunity, to commit this criminal act.”
Mr. Rinaldi denied any involvement in the party change, and was not charged for it on Wednesday. Mr. Hevesi, who rectified his party affiliation in time for the primary, defeated Mr. Rinaldi on Tuesday by about 76 percentage points.
During his arraignment on Wednesday, Mr. Rinaldi smirked as Ms. Staines read the charges. The judge, Indira Khan, was swift to admonish him.
“Sir, this is not a joking matter,” she said.
Mr. Rinaldi was placed on supervised release. He is expected to appear in court on Aug. 19.
Outside the courthouse, Mr. Rinaldi said that the charges were a violation of his First Amendment rights.
“What did I do? I campaigned,” he said. “I posted stuff on social media. So they arrested me? I’m allowed just like anybody else, to make any kind of content that I want. And there’s absolutely nothing that anybody can say or do about it.”
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