NMSA 1-19-26.8. Prohibited use of materially deceptive media; disclaimers

1-19-26.8. Prohibited use of materially deceptive media; disclaimers required; crime for violation; exceptions; enforcement. A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsections B through D of this section, it is a violation of the Campaign Reporting Act for a person to distribute or enter into an agreement with another person to distribute materially deceptive media. A person violates this subsection if that person distributes or enters into an agreement with another person to distribute materially deceptive media and: (1) the person knows the materially deceptive media falsely represents a depicted individual; (2) the distribution occurs within ninety days before an election; and (3) the person intends the distribution to result in altering the voting behavior of electors in an election by misleading the electors into believing that the depicted individual engaged in the speech or conduct depicted, and the distribution is reasonably likely to cause that result. B. The prohibition provided in Subsection A of this section does not apply to materially deceptive media if that media includes a disclaimer that appears in a clear and conspicuous manner in every language used in the media and indicates: "This ____ has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence". The blank line in the disclaimer shall be filled in with each of the following terms that describes the media: (1) image; (2) video; or (3) audio. C. The disclaimer required in Subsection B of this section shall be included as follows: (1) for visual media that is an image, the text of the disclaimer shall appear in a size that is easily readable; (2) for visual media that is video, the disclaimer shall appear for the duration of the video; (3) for media that contains audio only, the disclaimer shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not greater than two minutes each; and (4) for mixed media, there shall be a disclaimer in the same form as provided in this section for each form of media used. D. A person found to have willfully and knowingly violated the prohibition provided in Subsection A of this section is guilty of a crime as follows: (1) for a first conviction, a misdemeanor; and (2) for a second conviction, a fourth degree felony. E. Enforcement of the provisions of this section, including injunctive relief, against a person who violates this section may be sought in any court of competent jurisdiction by any of the following: (1) the attorney general; (2) a district attorney; (3) a depicted individual who is falsely represented; (4) a candidate for office who has been injured or is likely to be injured by the distribution of materially deceptive media; or (5) any organization that represents the interests of voters who are likely to be misled by the distribution of materially deceptive media. F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a claim pursuant to any other section of law or any civil action for damages. History: 1978 Comp., § 1-19-26.8, enacted by Laws 2024, ch. 57, § 3.