The complaint, filed by Eau Claire resident Cassandra Butzler, concerns an advertisement posted by a Van Orden campaign account ahead of an Oct. 20 debate with Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Cooke’s campaign says the ad included an AI-generated image of her.

The state’s 2024 law requires disclosure when AI is used in political advertising. Van Orden’s earlier AI-generated social media posts had not been subject to the law because they did not qualify as advertisements, according to the available account of the complaint.

Cooke’s campaign sent Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter late last month seeking to stop him from posting what it described as fabricated material. That included a video that portrayed Cooke as saying she wanted to “take advantage of as much corruption as possible, and give every illegal immigrant free healthcare.”

“Derrick Van Orden continues to spend his time posting AI-generated deepfakes instead of offering real solutions for the working families of our district,” Cooke said in a statement. She alleged the debate ad violated state ethics rules and said voters would not be fooled.

Van Orden has previously dismissed criticism of his AI use as a stunt. His spokesperson, Grace Kim, also characterized the ethics complaint as a “cheap publicity stunt” in comments to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The complaint puts renewed focus on how Wisconsin’s disclosure rules apply to AI-generated political content as candidates campaign in a closely watched congressional race. The commission’s response or any determination on the complaint was not provided.