Republican politicians have been caught out by an AI-generated image purporting to show a downed US warplane crew member being rescued by military special forces in Iran. The fake picture, shared by a pro-Trump X account, has been reshared more than 21,000 times and now carries a warning that it is 'probable AI generated'.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and New York Representative Mike Lawler all 'liked' or shared the image. Abbott posted a since-deleted message to his 1.4 million X followers, calling the rescue 'so awesome' and saying 'God is sending a message to our enemies!'. Lawler captioned his share: 'God Bless America!'.
This is not the first time Abbott has been duped by fake content. In March, he posted footage from the video game War Thunder, claiming it showed an Iranian plane being shot down by a US warship. In 2023, he shared a fake article about Garth Brooks being booed off stage over Bud Light.
AI-generated fabrications have become increasingly common around news events. After the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January, fake images flooded social media. NewsGuard's misinformation editor Sofia Rubinson warned that such content 'is being used to fill gaps in real-time reporting' and represents 'another tactic in the misinformation wars'.
Billy Binion of Reason magazine called for a 'crash course in media literacy', noting that 'this kind of stuff is bleak'. Digital forensics expert Hany Farid added that 'in the fog of war, details can get mistaken or altered in a way that is dangerous'.
