Alarming AI ads are flooding social media in the lead-up to Victoria’s election. But who is behind them?

In the lead-up to Victoria's election, AI-generated ads are spreading across social media platforms, costing up to $100,000 in August alone. The ads, created by groups called Fix Victoria and Better Victoria, feature alarming scenarios such as a machete-wielding robber and a woman giving birth on the side of the road due to poor road conditions. These issues are key talking points for opposition parties.

Fix Victoria is run by experienced political operatives who previously worked for the conservative thinktank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). The group's communications director, Andrew Hudgson, and its head of advocacy, Gideon Rozner, held similar roles at the IPA until earlier this year. Rozner claims that Fix Victoria is an "issues-driven, not politics-driven" organisation, focusing on crime, corruption, and debt as the main concerns dragging down the state.

However, transparency issues arise, as groups publishing political ads don't need to be registered as third-party campaigners unless they specifically promote or oppose a party or candidate. The Centre for Public Integrity's executive director, Catherine Williams, states that Victoria's laws are narrower in scope compared to their federal equivalent, meaning the financial backers of these ads may remain hidden.

Better Victoria, formed a month after Fix Victoria, has also run ads in August. Its political content is endorsed by the group itself rather than an office holder. Better Victoria's secretary, Ronald Holzer, claims to have an administrative role only and referred questions to an unnamed spokesperson, who declined to reveal any further details about the group's leadership or financing.

Transparency International Australia's chief executive, Clancy Moore, emphasizes the importance of Victorians knowing who is behind these campaigns and their political affiliations, as there is a history of third-party and fake grassroots campaign groups exploiting loopholes in electoral laws to influence elections.