AI Deepfake Audio of School Shooting Victims Being Used to Urge Lawmakers

AI-generated audio of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting victims is now being spread around the internet, urging lawmakers to push for gun control.

Lawmakers are reportedly called by these deepfakes in time for the sixth anniversary of the shooting that killed at least 17 people, including several students, in Parkland, Florida.

The deepfake calls were part of the March For Our Lives' and Change the Ref's initiative to call for action amidst growing gun violence in the US.

Many members of the nonprofit organization were parents of the school shooting victims, many of whom gave their consent to use their family's voice recording for the AI.

The deepfakes were generated via ElevenLabs, the same tool used by a Texas company to generate deepfake audio of President Joe Biden to deceive New Hampshire voters.

All the AI-generated audio can be accessed via the nonprofit website The Shotline where people can send the recordings to their local representatives via ZIP code.

US Gov't Bans AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls

While the project was supported by similar advocates, the gesture came in time as the Federal Trade Commission outlaws the use of AI-generated voices for spam and robocalls.

The ruling was passed following the deepfake of Biden spreading ahead of the 2024 Elections.

The deepfake involves an AI-generated voice of Biden telling voters to not attend the Democrat primary on New Hampshire last month.

ElevenLabs have since banned the account that generated the audio, while authorities look for the CEO of the company that started spreading the deepfake.

The parents of the killed students clarified that deepfakes were not intended to artificially resurrect their children, but strictly to send their message.

So far, no reports of government intervention in The Shotline project have been reported.

School Shootings Rise Throughout the US

Gun violence remains a prevalent problem in the US as more mass shootings are recorded each year.

Just in 2023, nearly 350 school shootings were reported across the US with 248 victims wounded or killed.

School shootings have continually increased since 2018 as gun ownership has become more lenient across many states.