Manufactured racist videos are becoming an entire business model and political weapon, according to Axios. 

In the latest report from Axios, it’s clear that when you place powerful technology— where fake photos and videos can be manufactured to look real to untrained and even trained eyes— into the hands of racists, a lot of damage can be done.

For example, in one viral video, Black women are seen banging on a door with the caption, “store under attack.” Another video appears to show brown Walmart workers being loaded into an ICE van  — both videos were fabricated using AI. And judging from the clips, it’s clear they were made to go viral by reinforcing old stereotypes and sparking outrage.

Creating this content is now as simple as typing a messy prompt into platforms like Sora or Veo and letting the model do the rest, no editing skills required. 

Not too long ago, AI fakes were easy to spot for their extra fingers or glitchy faces; newer versions look sharp enough to pass at a quick scroll. Researchers say this trend mirrors “digital blackface,” where non-Black creators profit off cartoonish portrayals of Black and brown people for clout or to push racist narratives.

"It's more of the outrage farming that we've always seen," Rianna Walcott, associate director at the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab, said to Axios. "It doesn't even have to be interesting or accurate content; it just has to generate viewership."

With platforms like TikTok paying out for views, outrage farming has become both a major hustle and, for some, a hobby. Experts warn that even when people know a clip is fake, the imagery still sticks in the brain and subtly shapes our beliefs. 

One bogus trend showed Black women bragging about misusing food assistance during a shutdown, fueling comment-section attacks on poor families and the program itself, even though most SNAP recipients are non-Hispanic white.

"The consequences of these images getting out there is that these harmful stereotypes seep into people's brains," said Michael Huggins, of the racial justice organization Color of Change.

He continued, "So many people get more of their news from social media. And my worry is that it could have a huge impact on how people perceive the upcoming midterm elections, and even the impact on the 2028 election."

Advocates worry these AI fakes will hit harder as elections approach, especially when many young voters get news mainly from feeds instead of traditional outlets. 

Civil rights groups say the real danger is how easy it is to industrialize racist content at scale and hide it behind “it’s just memes.” 

Tech companies have begun adding guardrails — banning slurs, limiting abusive deepfakes of figures like Martin Luther King Jr., and promising to act on misuse reports — but critics say the harm spreads much faster than platforms respond.