Story perspectives

Mississippi Launches Probe Into Colom Deepfake Video

By Drooid · Oct 25, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Mississippi officials opened investigation into a deepfake video posted by Scott Colom that may violate the 2024 election law.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in Columbus, Mississippi for Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom on Oct. 22, 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a rally at arena in Corinth, Mississippi on Oct. 26, 2026 backing Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The Senate Majority PAC and Democratic allies spent $1.2 million on television ads for Colom this week.

History

Historical Context

Digital-ad scandals trace back to Cambridge Analytica’s 2013 app that harvested up to 87 million Facebook profiles, prompting a $5 billion FTC fine in July 2019. The Federal Election Commission, crippled by resignations that left it without a quorum in April 2025, struggled to act on the 2018 investigation that fined the Trump campaign $2 million for 1,200 undisclosed Facebook ads. These precedents fuel current calls to tighten campaign-finance enforcement.

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Story summary

Mississippi officials opened investigation into a deepfake video posted by Scott Colom that may violate the 2024 election law.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in Columbus, Mississippi for Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom on Oct. 22, 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a rally at arena in Corinth, Mississippi on Oct. 26, 2026 backing Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The Senate Majority PAC and Democratic allies spent $1.2 million on television ads for Colom this week.

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