In a world where deepfakes and digital tricks are everywhere, politicians have found a perfect scapegoat: artificial intelligence. It's faceless, can't defend itself, and often gets things wrong – making it the ideal target for dodging blame on anything cringe-worthy or controversial.

This tactic hit a new high on Tuesday when President Donald Trump jumped on the bandwagon. Questioned about a viral clip of an object being hurled from a White House window, Trump dismissed it with, "No, that's probably AI" – even after his own team admitted the video was legit. But Trump didn't stop there. He fully embraced the strategy, telling reporters, "If something happens that's really bad, maybe I'll have to just blame AI."

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And guess what? He's far from the only one.

Across the globe, AI is taking the heat, sometimes deservedly, sometimes not. That same day in Venezuela, Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez called out a U.S. video claiming to show a strike on a gang boat in the Caribbean, labelling it "very likely" AI-generated due to its "cartoonish" effects. The clip, shared on Truth Social, depicted a speedboat erupting in flames after a flash.

While blaming AI can occasionally be a nod to something impressive – like tennis pro Alexander Bublik calling rival Jannik Sinner an "AI-generated player" during the U.S. Open – experts warn it's a slippery slope when wielded by those in power.

Hany Farid, a digital forensics guru at UC Berkeley, has long sounded the alarm on deepfakes fuelling scams and political chaos. But the real danger? "When anything can be fake, nothing has to be real," Farid explains. "You just cry 'deepfake' and deny everything."

Remember the good old days? A decade ago, caught-on-tape scandals meant apologies. Trump sort of apologised in 2016 for the "Access Hollywood" tape (saying "if anyone was offended"), and Hillary Clinton owned up to her "basket of deplorables" slip.

Now? AI blame erodes accountability, says Toby Walsh, AI expert at the University of New South Wales. "We're heading to a dystopia where no one – especially politicians – owns their words anymore," he emailed. "Tape evidence? Just blame the bots."

The 'Liar's Dividend': A Chilling Payoff

This isn't new; law profs Danielle K. Citron and Robert Chesney nailed it in a 2019 paper, coining the "liar's dividend". When people doubt everything they see and hear, truth becomes subjective – and the loudest voices win, boosting those in charge.

Public scepticism is rising. A Pew poll from August 2024 found half of Americans more worried than thrilled about AI's daily creep. Quinnipiac's April survey? Three-quarters trust AI info "some" or "hardly ever", with 60% freaking out over leaders using it for fake news.

Trump's no stranger to twisting truth. Pre-AI, he popularised "fake news" to bash media – even admitting to CBS' Leslie Stahl in 2016 he discredits reporters so bad stories flop. This isn't his first AI rodeo either. In 2023, he accused the Lincoln Project of AI-doctoring an ad mocking his "weakness" with stumbles and blue-pill jabs. "The perverts... are using AI to make me look bad," he ranted on Truth Social. The group? Swore no AI was involved.

As AI blurs lines between real and rigged, one thing's clear: blaming it might be the hottest trend in dodging drama. But at what cost to trust?

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