Recent campaigns driven by corporate interests have reached new lows in attempts to misrepresent public opinion and mislead officials. California’s tradition of open government, including citizen boards overseeing areas like automotive repair and security guard licensing, was designed to counter the influence of well-funded corporate entities.

AI-Powered Disinformation Campaigns

Lobbyists and special interests have long sought to defeat the will of the majority. Now, they are leveraging artificial intelligence to simulate grassroots opposition, even surreptitiously using the identities of real people to deceive regulators.

South Coast Air Quality Management District Case

Last June, the South Coast Air Quality Management District received over 20,000 comments opposing clean air rules projected to prevent 2,500 premature deaths and 10,000 new asthma cases. A February investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed these comments were submitted via CiviClick, an AI-powered platform, orchestrated by a political consultant linked to the natural gas industry.

A cybersecurity team’s verification efforts found that a majority of commenters had not actually submitted the comments attributed to them. Despite this, the rules – already weakened – were ultimately rejected by the board, seemingly overwhelmed by the volume of fabricated opposition.

Bay Area Rule Weakening Efforts

A similar scheme was uncovered in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle. An industry front group utilized Speak4, a platform advertising its AI capabilities, to submit comments echoing fossil fuel industry talking points, aiming to weaken and delay clean air regulations.

Ten residents whose identities were used in these emails confirmed they did not send the messages, labeling them as “forged.” In both California cases, organizations submitted comments using real people’s identities without their knowledge or consent.

National Trend and Industry Ties

This tactic isn’t limited to California. CiviClick was also employed by fossil fuel companies to support a gas pipeline expansion project in North Carolina last year, with some constituents denying any knowledge of emails sent under their names.

The South Coast campaign was run by a prominent lobbying firm with Sempra, SoCalGas’s parent company, among its clients. SoCalGas opposed the clean air standards, which would have promoted pollution-free heat pumps. Similarly, the Bay Area’s Common Sense Coalition, linked to fossil fuel companies, is a project of the Bay Area Council, whose members include Western States Petroleum Assn., Chevron, Martinez Refining Co., and Phillips 66.

Calls for Investigation and Legal Reform

Investigations are needed to determine if fossil fuel interests financed these astroturf campaigns and whether they constitute fraud or identity theft. Californians deserve transparency regarding the use of AI, the sourcing of personal information, and the funding behind these deceptive campaigns.

Top law enforcement officials, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, should investigate. Senate Bill 1159 aims to clarify and strengthen laws regarding the misuse of personal information in attempts to influence public agencies.

A Threat to Democracy

Mary Nichols, former chair of the California Air Resources Board, expressed deep concern over the potential for automated tools to co-opt public input processes. She emphasized that gathering public input is fundamental to the legitimacy of regulatory agencies and that the destruction of meaningful public input through deceit is not just an environmental issue, but a threat to democracy itself.