Someone developed a hyper-realistic deepfake of Ron DeSantis as Michael Scott from ‘The Office’ wearing women’s attire 2023

A deepfake video of Governor Ron DeSantis impersonating Michael Scott in an episode of “The Office” is going viral on Twitter, and it is yet another example of how artificial intelligence can be used as a weapon against politicians.

The deepfake video features DeSantis’ visage superimposed on the iconic character played by Steve Carell. The relevant scenario appeared in “The Negotiation,” an episode from the third season of the program.

In the scenario, “The Office” warehouse employee Darryl Philbin mocks DeSantis-as-Scott by asking if he is wearing “lady clothes.”

The phony DeSantis responds angrily, “No. This is an executive tuxedo.”

“I do not buy women’s clothes.”

As the office debates whether the character is donning a woman’s suit, the imposter DeSantis turns his coat to reveal the label, which reads “MISSterious.”

Deepfakes are videos and audio snippets generated by artificial intelligence that replace a person’s visage with that of another.

Donald Trump Jr., son of the former president, tweeted the video on Saturday with the caption, “DeSantis does seem to spend a lot of time in high heels,” followed by a chuckling emoji. Almost certainly, he was referring to the unproven theory that DeSantis wears footwear with heels to increase his height.

As of press time, the tweet has been viewed more than 2,9 million times.

The video was released mere days after DeSantis formally announced his 2024 presidential campaign on Twitter Spaces alongside Elon Musk. This announcement placed DeSantis in direct opposition to his erstwhile mentor, Trump.

Since he declared his candidacy, the Trump campaign has launched numerous attacks against DeSantis; this deepfake video is just the most recent instance of AI being used against DeSantis.

Trump uploaded an AI-generated video of DeSantis and Musk conversing with the devil and Adolf Hitler to his Truth Social account on Wednesday.

The video even includes a computer-generated Trump saying, “Hold your horses, Elon!” The actual president will deliver a few remarks. I’m going to strike the devil’s arse very shortly. Hitler is already deceased.”

“And Ron DeSanctimonious can kiss my large, beautiful ass in 2024,” Trump’s voice proceeds in the video, “Trump 2024 baby, let’s go!”

The DeSantis campaign did not respond promptly to Insider’s request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.