'Scared me': Uncovered audio catches GOP candidate falling for fake AI video at event

A Republican Senate candidate boasted of his AI experience at a campaign event, then admitted seconds later that he was "scared" by a video that later turned out to be AI-generated.

Heartland Signal obtained audio from a March 17 event hosted by the Oakland University College Republicans. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), a former FBI agent and House Intelligence Committee chairman running for Michigan's open Senate seat, has made national security and tech experience central to his campaign.

"I'm in a company right now that uses AI," Rogers told the crowd. "So I'm sure they're terrifying you young students that AI is gonna kill you, and take your job, and stuff you in a trunk, right? Oh, man. The fearmongering of all of that."

Seconds later, he changed course entirely.

"Did you see that video of the Chinese soldiers? They are completely autonomous soldiers," Rogers said. "That was a little terrifying to me. I don't know. I looked at it. It was a little scary. I mean, they were functioning as — as soldiers. They're completely robotic, armored up, and they were doing a combat lane run and were performing pretty well."

That video was a fake. A fact-check by Deutsche Welle, the German public broadcaster, found telltale signs of AI generation, including missing shell ejections and an empty magazine being loaded into a weapon.

Forensic ballistics expert Philipp Cachee concluded the footage was "almost certainly" AI-generated after spotting errors in how the robots handled weapons.

Rogers also reposted the video on LinkedIn after Deutsche Welle published its debunking.

A recent TIPP Insights poll found that all three of his potential Democratic opponents were slightly ahead of him in general election matchups, with the seat rated a toss-up.