Fake AI-generated images of Donald Trump being arrested are circulating on social media.
The former US president said on social media last week that he expected to be arrested in relation to an investigation into the “hush money” he allegedly paid to Stormy Daniels.
He could be indicted by a Manhattan jury this week, which would make him the first former US president to face a criminal charge.
As of March 22, Trump has not yet been arrested.
However, images appearing to show otherwise have been shared widely across Twitter and Instagram.
One tweet, which features three images of Trump tussling with police, has been viewed more than eight million times.
Donald Trump has been arrested downtown Washington DC pic.twitter.com/81su1uCsBB
— erén 👾 (@BEYAWONCE) March 21, 2023
The images show him struggling with the police officers, with one even showing the former president running away.
Users have been sharing the images with no context, and without making clear that they are AI-generated.
To combat the misinformation, Twitter has posted a disclaimer under the images that says: “Donald Trump has not been arrested. These images are AI-generated.”
AI images aren’t always totally realistic (on closer inspection, it appears that in one image, Trump is wearing a police belt and has four legs). However, for social media users casually scrolling on their Twitter feed, it may take a moment to realise that the images are fake.
The images were made by Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of Bellingcat. He made clear that he used artificial intelligence program Midjourney to create the images when he posted them.
Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump's arrest. pic.twitter.com/4D2QQfUpLZ
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 20, 2023
However, Twitter users suggested that Higgins should have used a watermark to make clear that the images were not real.
Higgins later revealed that his viral Twitter thread resulted in a Midjourney ban.
AI-generated imagery has also been used to spread misinformation about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s meeting this week.
While the two world leaders did meet on March 21, a false image that appears to show Putin kneeling before Xi has been circulating on social media.
