Visual AI Politics and the Politics of Visual AI

AI-generated images are transforming how politics is seen, shared and contested, yet research on their political effects remains fragmented. This timely edited volume closes that gap, moving beyond simplistic narratives of AI as either a driver of misinformation or a tool of creative resistance.Bringing together an international group of established and early-career scholars, the book develops a critical framework for understanding the politics of visual AI. It examines how synthetic images can enable activism and human rights work while also being used to produce propaganda, reinforce bias and normalize violence.Across thematic sections on governance, gender, climate and conflict, the volume explores how AI-generated visuals reshape truth, power and representation in contemporary political life.