Midjourney, a popular AI image generation platform, has taken a proactive stance ahead of the 2024 US election by blocking users from creating AI-generated images of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. This decision comes in response to the misuse of AI-generated content, which has been used to spread misinformation and create fake images of political figures.
Users attempting to generate images of Biden or Trump on Midjourney will now encounter a “Banned Prompt Detected” warning, with further attempts triggering an abuse alert. Midjourney CEO David Holz emphasized that while he finds creating images of Trump aesthetically interesting, the company is prioritizing responsible usage during the election period.
This move by Midjourney is part of a broader trend among AI platforms to prevent the misuse of AI-generated content. OpenAI, for example, has banned requests for images of political candidates on its platform, Dall-E, to prevent the spread of misleading deepfakes. Similarly, Google has restricted its AI chatbot, Gemini, from answering election-related questions.
With significant elections taking place in over 50 countries this year, the role of AI-generated content in shaping political discourse is more pronounced than ever. By implementing these restrictions, platforms like Midjourney are taking proactive steps to curb the spread of misinformation and protect the integrity of democratic processes worldwide.
