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Former US president Trump took to his Truth Social platform, claiming that the crowd Kamala Harris’ images from her August 7 rally was not real and had been AI-generated. These claims were quickly debunked by multiple sources read more
 "Donald Trump falsely claims Kamala Harris faked Aug 7 massive rally photo using AI")
Former US president Donald Trump has often made unfounded claims about election integrity and the legitimacy of his political opponents, echoing his baseless assertions about the 2020 election being stolen. Image Credit: Reuters, Reuters
Former President Donald Trump recently sparked controversy by amplifying false claims that Kamala Harris used artificial intelligence (AI) to fabricate a photo of her supporters at a Michigan rally.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform, alleging that the crowd in the image, shared by the Harris campaign, was not real and had been digitally created. These claims were quickly debunked by multiple sources.
Live footage and photos from several media outlets, including AFP, showed a large crowd of supporters at the event, which took place in an airfield hangar in Michigan.
The photo in question was posted by a Harris campaign official and later confirmed as authentic by experts. The campaign even shared the original version of the image, which appeared slightly dimmer than the high-exposure version highlighted by Trump. They assured that the image had not been altered by AI.
To further validate the authenticity of the image, Drexel University’s digital forensic expert, Matthew Stamm, analysed it using specialised software and found no evidence that AI had been used.
Hany Farid, a digital forensic expert from the University of California-Berkeley, also examined the photo with models designed to detect AI manipulation and found no traces of such technology.
The false claim had been circulating in right-wing and conspiracy-driven social media circles before Trump picked it up. One of the points made by those spreading the rumour was the lack of a reflection of the crowd on the side of the plane in the photo.
Experts clarified that the reflection would not necessarily be visible due to the distance between the aircraft and the crowd and the angle at which the photo was taken.
Despite these explanations and evidence, Trump continued to push the narrative that Harris had “cheated” by fabricating the image. He even went so far as to suggest that Harris’s candidacy should be questioned because of these alleged actions.
This incident is part of a broader pattern where the former US president has made unfounded claims about election integrity and the legitimacy of his political opponents, echoing his baseless assertions about the 2020 election being stolen.
The Harris campaign, along with digital forensic experts, has thoroughly debunked these accusations, emphasising the image’s authenticity and the real presence of supporters at the Michigan rally.
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English (US) ·