Richard Hasen

“The Talarico case shows the limits of being able to do this. This was something that was easily disproven and could have potentially even backfired, showing that the anti-Talarico forces are so desperate that they have to make up a false claim to try to boost a weak candidate.”

Richard Hasen · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-15

Hasen said the Talarico case showed the limits of disinformation, as it was easily disproven and could have backfired.

“Because we’re leaving digital footprints everywhere, that sometimes could be another way to debunk a rumour.”

Richard Hasen · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-15

Hasen pointed out that digital footprints can help candidates debunk rumors, as Talarico did with home security camera footage.

“When you’ve got Elon Musk owning one of the important social media platforms and being a vector for spreading the misinformation, and also when you’ve got the companies like Meta no longer doing the same kind of trust and safety work, it’s just an atmosphere where this kind of stuff can spread.”

Richard Hasen · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-15

Hasen said Musk's ownership of X and Meta's reduced trust and safety work created an atmosphere where misinformation can spread.

“Every election now we’re hearing it’s going to be ‘the AI election’ and voters are going to be tricked. What I think is happening in part is that everyone’s on their guard. We all know that we can’t necessarily believe our eyes or our ears and things that a politician might appear to say or do might not necessarily be true, so that’s a little bit of a natural check.”

Richard Hasen · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-15

Hasen said voters are now more on guard against AI-generated fakes, providing a natural check against digital deception.