Ethics complaint filed against Congressman Derrick Van Orden over AI violation; Van Orden alleges graphic features real picture

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - UPDATE: On Friday, Oct. 23, Congressman Derrick Van Orden alleged that the ethics complaint was filed over a campaign graphic featuring a real picture of her.

According to a press release from Van Orden, the image used in the graphic is a photograph of Rebecca Cooke taken during a May interview with News 8.

In his press release, Van Orden wrote, “I don’t even know what to say about this ridiculous complaint that Cooke filed about her own picture, other than that it is possibly the biggest self-own in political history. Cooke is a proven pathological liar that will do or say anything to distract voters from her disastrous debate performance. Cooke is now resorting to desperate political stunts to distract from her record of supporting defunding the police, abolishing Wisconsinites’ Second Amendment rights, allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports, granting amnesty to illegal aliens, and backing the development of two data centers on Wisconsin farmland. The original footage proves the photograph is real, and every news outlet that reported Cooke’s allegations should correct the record immediately. Wisconsin voters deserve the truth, and her record is all laid out at RebeccaLies.com.”

The ethics complaint alleges the image below, posted on X, was made with AI without disclosing that it was generated with AI.

The Eau Claire residents’ ethics complaint says,

We have reached out to Cooke’s team for a response and have yet to hear back.

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - On Thursday, Oct. 22, an ethics complaint was filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Congressman Derrick Van Orden. The complaint accuses Van Orden of posting another AI-generated graphic of Rebecca Cooke without disclosing that it’s AI-generated.

According to a press release from Rebecca Cooke, this is a direct violation of Wisconsin Ethics Laws and a complete disregard of the cease-and-desist letter sent by attorneys of Cooke weeks prior.

The cease-and-desist letter, sent on Sept. 30, 2026, addresses Van Orden repeatedly posting defamatory videos on his social media accounts of Cooke saying and doing things that are “pure fiction.” The letter concludes by saying, “if you persist in running a campaign against an AI deepfake strawman… we will evaluate all legal options to address that misconduct.” Accordingly, the Cooke campaign is proceeding with this promise in hopes that Van Orden’s campaign complies with applicable ethics rules.

“Derrick Van Orden continues to spend his time posting AI-generated deepfakes instead of offering real solutions for the working families of our district. He has now gone so far as to violate Wisconsin’s ethics rules, but voters won’t be fooled, Van Orden has never put his constituents first, and he never will,” said Rebecca Cooke. “Wisconsinites have made their stance clear: protect our farms and small businesses, keep money out of politics, and stop building AI data centers. I am working to get these things done but Van Orden, out of touch as ever, has ignored their concerns, doubling down on deepfakes instead of offering real solutions. Wisconsinites deserve better.”

Van Orden sent us a response to the ethics complaint:

The complaint was filed by an Eau Claire citizen.