Authorities in New Hampshire say they have found the source of an illegal voter suppression campaign using an AI-generated imitation of Joe Biden’s voice.
In a press release issued on Monday, state Attorney General John Formella named two Texas-based companies as the entities responsible for the fraudulent calls.
Formella ordered Life Corporation, the alleged creator of the messages, and Lingo Telecom, the alleged service provider, to immediately cease all violations of New Hampshire election law and cooperate with the investigation.
At the same time, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has threatened to remove Lingo from the country’s telecom network unless it can demonstrate that it has appropriate safeguards against illegal activity on its services.
“AI-generated records used to deceive voters could have devastating effects on the democratic electoral process,” said Formella, a Republican appointed to the post in 2021.
All voters should be alert to suspicious messages and misinformation and report them as soon as they see them.
Loyaan Egal, chief of the FCC’s enforcement bureau, added that the use of artificial intelligence to deceive voters is a “rapidly growing problem” and that his bureau will use “every tool available” to keep these attempts off US networks.
The Independent has reached out to Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom for comment but has not yet received a response.
The robocalls, first reported by NBC News, urged New Hampshire primary voters not to bother participating in the New Hampshire primary by reaching out to them with a message apparently from Joe Biden.
Calling the process “a bunch of bullshit” and allegedly using a fake caller ID, the fake president urged those he reached out to to “save your vote for the presidential election.” This is a preposterous idea, given that there is no limit to how many elections each American can vote in.
According to the FCC, Lingo was already under federal investigation for making 61 suspected illegal calls originating abroad since 2021, and had operated under 11 different names in the past.
In the Board’s enforcement letter, Life Corporation is accused of including a seal of approval indicating that it had reviewed the right to use the number, even though the number used for the robocalls was fake.
In addition, Life Corporation was reprimanded by the board in 2003 for sending unsolicited robocalls to a number of homeowners that were “reportedly illegal”.
Life Corp’s website gives no details about its executives and its services are extremely vague. The site claims to offer “creative” solutions for “data processing, service monitoring or communication links”.
“If you’re thinking, ‘I wonder if Life Corporation could do this,’ the answer is probably YES. We can find a way to make your idea a reality,” the website mysteriously reads.
Formella added that his office is still investigating whether Life Corp was working with or at the behest of other individuals or organizations.
