THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG PROBLEM IN 2024

NBC News is demanding that the Trump campaign take down a clip making the social media rounds that looks like an NBC report, but is a fake.

In the clip, NBC’s Garrett Haake is delivering a report previewing the third GOP primary debate, which the network hosted last month.

Then it veers off into La-la-land, cutting to a video of each of the debate participants, with a Haake soundalike making insulting remarks about them

“This is Ron DeSantis: An establishment RINO that wears insoles in order to look taller,” the voiceover says. “And this is Nikki Haley: Nobody really gives a shit about Nikki Haley.”

The clip was shared by Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita who eventually fessed up to the clip being a parody.

But the likely AI-assisted clip stood a good chance of being taken seriously by those who saw it..

It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last, that political operatives have indulged in fakery using advanced technology.

Back in June, the DeSantis’ campaign shared fake images of Trump embracing Dr. Anthony Fauci, prompting outrage among Trump supporters online.

We’ve always been plagued with political skullduggery.

But advanced technology, unregulated social media and the greed of television station operators who just can’t resist all that ad money being waved in front of them are forming a toxic environment that sets the stage for more fakery to try and scam the public.

It’s not hopeless.

Meta rolled out a new policy last month requiring political advertisers on Facebook and Instagram to disclose if their ads contain AI-generated or -altered imagery, video or audio.

And video verification — a time-consuming form of fact-checking that requires both tech-savviness and investigative chops — is an area of growing interest within newsrooms, as evidenced by CBS News’ newly-announced “CBS Verified” team, which will focus on AI-assisted fakes in particular.

But more needs to be done.

The efforts so far barely scratch the surface.