Cooke calls Van Orden’s AI deepfake videos defamatory, threatens legal action

Congressman Derrick Van Orden may not have violated Wisconsin law, but the AI-generated deepfake videos of his opponent could be defamatory. That’s what Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s hotly contested 3rd Congressional District, and her lawyers argue in a cease and desist letter they served to Van Orden on Wednesday. 

Van Orden, the incumbent in this race, and Cooke have traded barbs on X throughout the campaign, but Cooke and her attorneys are now accusing Van Orden of defamation. 

“These defamatory, misleading videos undermine our democratic process and are the exact kind of mudslinging voters are tired of,” Cooke said in a statement published on Wednesday on X. 

Van Orden has posted multiple AI-generated deepfake videos portraying Cooke, using both her image and her voice to create fake videos of her saying outrageous statements. One shows Cooke deflecting calls to release her personal financial disclosures. 

The Anointed One, @RebeccaforWI knows there was no primary.

She was picked by @WisDems and the DCCC last year.

Every Dem will fall in line and COMPLY with their DC masters. pic.twitter.com/gcnzKRsbY4

— Derrick Van Orden (@derrickvanorden) August 4, 2026

“I was anointed last year by the national Democrat party already,” the deepfake version of Cooke says. “Let the peasants eat cake, they will vote for me anyway.”

In another, former President Joe Biden sits behind her while she talks into a microphone. 

“I am also running to booster our framers and make sure we take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free health care,” the deepfake says.

None of the videos or the statements they show are real, her lawyers said. 

“The video is pure fiction,” the letter says. “The events depicted did not occur.” 

Wisconsin is one of several states that have enacted legislation regulating deepfake political content. The Wisconsin law requires any audio or video content created to advocate for a political cause to explicitly state “this content created by AI” throughout the audio or video content. 

In August, Up North News reported that the videos likely don’t violate Wisconsin’s law because they aren’t paid advertising. The cease and desist letter states that the law doesn’t apply to federal candidates, but that Van Orden’s posts “are violating the spirit of the law.” 

“You are airing this false content to attempt to fool the voters of Wisconsin into believing she said something she did not to harm her reputation for your own political gain,” the letter says. 

Van Orden has posted similar videos depicting Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong and Devin Remiker, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. 

A video made with X’s Grok Imagine on Aug. 12 shows Hong and Cooke accusing each other of stealing their respective primaries. The fake video of Remiker appears to be an altered version of an interview he gave to CNN. 

After receiving the letter, Van Orden doubled down and posted more AI-generated videos made with Grok, this time depicting Cooke as a red duck wearing a shirt saying, “I demand DVO cease and desist from telling the truth about me.” 

“Rebecca Cooke is embarrassing herself because she got busted lying again and is now trying to cover it up,” he told WEAU, a Eau Claire TV station. “We will gladly accept her complaints if she uses the proper form.” 

For Van Orden, that form is the “Hurt Feelings Report.”