A MAGA content creator made a deepfake account—and learned that "Democrats are nice people"

I was tagged in a comment on a video posted by retired political science professor Dr. Arlene (@arleneunfiltered). In the video, Arlene shares a snippet of a confessional posted by a new account named Charlie Bishop 2024. The account appears to be run by a former MAGA follower who is slowly engaging in self-deprogramming. Upon closer inspection, though, not only is the account completely fake, Charlie Bishop 2024 is a deepfake avatar produced by MAGA content creator JR Majewski (TikTok: @realjrmajewski).

Who is the MAGA deepfaker?

One of the losers in the 2022 U.S. House race was MAGA content creator JR Majewski, who rode into the election on the cheap high of a viral stunt to get the Republican party's attention: he turned his entire front lawn into a mural of Donald Trump. On the campaign trail, he was caught lying about his military service and subsequently lost the Republican Party's support. He then parroted a popular Russian-based talking point that brings up deeply repressed historic memories from the 1860s: all the states that voted for Trump in 2020 should secede.

When he decided to enter the 2024 race, the Republican Party lashed out. His poor performance in the previous election worried House Speaker Mike Johnson, who went to the White House to let Trump know that Majewski needed to be dealt with—otherwise, they might lose a critical house seat in the coming election. A backroom deal with Trump and his campaign was arranged, and Majewski confirmed with Politico that he was in contact with the Trump campaign at the time.

Shortly after, Majewsky—whose TikTok videos commonly feature AI-generated media and deepfakes—withdrew from the 2024 House election. In the same month, deepfakes of Trump with marginalized communities started going viral.

In one of his TikTok videos, you can see that he was a guest in a show produced by one of the content creators involved with the $10M Russian money indictment. His use of far-right rhetoric along with a creative dependence on AI-generated content and deepfakes show that he is a propagandist committed to the bit, far beyond his own ability to recognize the harm his ideas bring upon others.

More disheartening, though, is that he does not seem ready to accept the harm this kind of behavior brings upon his own capacity for authentic human connection.

Follow-up discussions on TikTok

• On emotional poverty in childhood and the artistic need for self-expression
• We don't need to call people like Majewski 'stupid'
• An open letter to JR Majewsky (in response to "why did he do it?")