Ron DeSantis ad uses AI-generated photos of Trump and Fauci

Ron DeSantis’ new campaign video attacking Donald Trump shows three photos of the former president hugging and kissing Anthony Fauci, a key member of the U.S. coronavirus task force, on the cheek. It is said that there arebut The image is marked with Three media forensics experts told AFP that the fakes were created using artificial intelligence technology.

DeSantis’ rapid response team wrote in a June 5, 2023 tweet that shared the video, “Donald Trump became famous for firing countless people on *TV*.” “But when it comes to Fauci…”

A 44-second spot contrasts footage of Trump telling cast members, “You’re fired,” while he was a reality TV host, to footage of the president explaining why he’s not. Put the blame on Mr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the face of America’s coronavirus response.

Fauci, who served as White House chief medical adviser under President Joe Biden, retired from public service last year. The prominent U.S. health official was widely praised for his efforts during the pandemic, but he also became a target for those spreading COVID-19. Misinformation. He has drawn the ire of some US conservatives for his early push for social distancing and other public health measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.

I hear Trump’s voice A DeSantis ad says firing Fauci was like dropping a “bomb,” but the screen flashes a collage of six photos of Trump and Fauci.

Three of the photos are real and show the men together in March 2020. Photographers from Getty Images, the National Institutes of Health, and Reuters captured the shot (archives here, here, and here).

But another photo of Trump allegedly kissing Fauci three times on the cheek has the characteristics of an AI-generated image.

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and an expert in digital forensics, misinformation, and image analysis, said, “It was despicable to mix a supposedly real photo with a fake one. But these three images. is almost certainly AI-generated.” .

Farid and two other media forensic experts surveyed by AFP agreed that the images had irregular features typical of those generated by AI.

“These images contain many indications that they were generated by AI,” said Matthew Stam, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Drexel University. A company that specializes in detecting counterfeit images and videoss. “For example, if you look closely at Donald Trump’s hair in the top left, bottom center, and bottom right images, it contains inconsistent textures and is noticeably blurrier than other nearby content.” I understand. Such as his ears and other parts of his face. ”

DeSantis and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.

Other signs of counterfeiting include: The billboard behind Trump and Fauci in the top left image of the collage resembles the background of the White House press conference room, but the text is incomprehensible and spells “White House” or “Washington” correctly. do not have.

Shiwei Liu, director of the Institute for Media Forensics at the University of Buffalo, told AFP that the image also portrayed: trump’s right hand It is in an unusual position and appears to be overstretched to completely envelop Fauci’s body.

Meanwhile, the image on the bottom right contains “differences in the shape of President Trump’s ear compared to the stock photo,” Farid told AFP.

The middle-bottom image also shows many inconsistencies, such as the irregular pattern between stars on the flag, experts said.

Trump’s right hand in the photo “clearly has an unnatural thumb position,” Liu said.

At the same time, Stam noted that in the image, Trump’s left thumb is missing and instead appears to blend into his right hand.

AFP also observed ridges of varying sizes on the pillars in the photo.

The pillar, along with the flag, are positioned in the image to obscure the view of the White House logo. However, if you look at the real photo of the conference room, you can see that the flag and pole are actually located on the other side of the emblem without blocking it.

AFP was unable to independently determine the origin of the photo of Trump embracing Fauci. But a reverse search of the original source for the images yielded no results, and Farid said it was “very likely” that they were hoaxes.

“I’m pretty sure these aren’t real photos,” Liu added.

The video reportedly incorporated an AI-generated image because a previous ad for Never Back Down, the super PAC that backs Mr. DeSantis, used digital editing to show a video of one of the governor’s speeches. It is said that it was done after superimposing a visual of a jet flying overhead.

The Republican National Committee was also criticized in April for an ad that used AI-generated imagery to depict an apocalyptic future under Biden’s second term.

AFP has debunked other AI-generated visual errors in the past, including here and here.