The Oregon Republican Party promoted Donald Trump’s plan to send National Guard troops to Portland with a social media post featuring a fabricated image of a riot scene. The image, presented on platforms like Facebook and X, was a composite of two stock photos, one depicting South American riot police and the other a Brazilian protest. Despite the image’s inauthenticity, the post was made to encourage Trump’s plan to send troops. After being questioned about the image’s origins, the party responded, claiming they were “just bad memers,” and the post was subsequently removed.
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President Trump repeatedly claimed in an ABC News interview that a deported man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, has “MS13” tattooed on his knuckles, citing a photograph as evidence. This photo, however, clearly shows the letters “MS13” superimposed onto an image of a hand, not an actual tattoo. Despite the interviewer’s corrections and the obvious digital alteration, Trump insisted on the accuracy of his claim, highlighting his belief, or desire to perpetuate the belief, in the fabricated evidence. This incident underscores the ease with which manipulated images can be used to spread misinformation, even at the highest levels of government. The incident raises concerns about the potential impact of increasingly sophisticated AI-generated imagery.
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