Judge’s Smiling Photo was Doctored to Make Her Look ‘Ashamed’

A judge’s smiling photo was “digitally altered” for a television attack ad to make her look like she was frowning.

Conservative Judge Brad Schimel of Waukesha County and liberal Judge Susan Crawford of Dane County are competing in the April 1 general election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Madison, Wisconsin.

On Wednesday, Crawford filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission claiming her image was doctored in a recent TV attack ad released by her rival Schimel.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the ad (seen on X above) was released by Schimel’s campaign last month and is airing statewide. It features a photo of a frowning Crawford with her arms crossed and looking sternly at the camera as a narrator describes a sexual assault case and appeal that spanned the late 1990s and early 2000s. The ad claims Crawford bungled the case.

Schimel’s spokesperson later acknowledged that the photo of Crawford in the ad had been doctored from a portrait of her smiling. Schimel’s campaign edited the image so she looked “ashamed” in the ad.

“We edited the photo because we felt it would be disrespectful to the victim, who had already been traumatized by Susan Crawford’s mistake that led to her rapist’s release, to show Susan Crawford smiling when she should be feeling ashamed,” Jacob Fischer, a spokesman for Schimel, says according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

However, in her complaint, Crawford claims that Schimel’s campaign may have used AI to alter her photo — potentially violating a new state law requiring disclosure of AI-edited political ads. Under this law, failing to disclose AI use in a campaign ad could lead to a $1,000 fine.

“Schimel’s campaign has admitted to deceptively editing this image, and we urge the Wisconsin Ethics Commission to thoroughly investigate this dishonest and manipulated advertisement,” Derrick Honeyman, a Crawford spokesman, says regarding her complaint.

But Schimel’s spokesperson Fischer has denied that Crawford’s image was edited with AI. He says that there is nothing ethically wrong with the photo-editing involved in the ad.

“It’s not an AI-generated image,” Fischer tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Image credits: Header photo via Wisconsin Ethics Commission.