Donald Trump supporters are creating and sharing AI-generated images of the former president with Black voters. The photos appear to be an attempt to inflate Trump’s popularity with the Black community, but the photos are nothing but fakes.
In the leadup to the 2024 Presidential Election, several of these AI-generated dupes of Black Trump supporters have popped up on social media. One image is a holiday photo depicting Trump embracing several Black people. However, it’s an AI dupe created by The Mark Kaye Show, a conservative talk show, and distributed on Facebook to over one million of Kaye’s Facebook followers. The post from November, first reported by the BBC, was not labeled as being AI-generated in any way.
“I never thought I would read the words ‘BLM Leader endorses Donald Trump,’ but then again, Christmas is the time for miracles,” said Kaye in a Facebook post.
The image is obviously an AI fake. Trump’s hands look deformed, and the person on the far left is missing a ring finger. AI is notoriously bad with hands. Not to mention the gentleman’s hat in the back left is gibberish. AI-generated misinformation is a growing problem in the 2024 Presidential Election.
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This is certainly not the first AI dupe of Trump’s Black supporters. One image of a Black man picketing for Donald Trump went viral on X in January, shared by a conservative pollster. However, it was quickly revealed as an AI deepfake when users noticed the man had three arms.
A separate account, @Trump_History45, frequently shares AI-generated images of Trump with Black people, with no labels about being AI-generated. Some of the account’s images are obviously jokes, showing Trump in ridiculous historical circumstances, including the former President posing with Martin Luther King Jr. However, comments on many of the more modern-looking posts reveal that many viewers don’t perceive these as fakes.
None of these AI-generated images have been tied back to Trump’s campaign, though the former president is no stranger to AI. Trump repeatedly claims photos that make him look bad are AI-generated, including unflattering photos from a recent golf trip that were unfortunately real. It’s a concerning tactic Trump is using more and more.
A January poll from NBC found that 16% of Black voters said they would back Trump in 2024, compared to 75% who supported Biden. Notably, Trump’s support among Black voters is modestly rising, up from 7% in 2020.
The 45th President of the United States recently told a South Carolina crowd that Black voters like him more now because of his indictments and mug shot. It’s one of many strategies Trump is pulling to appeal to new voters, including selling $400 gold branded sneakers.
AI-generated deepfakes have already wreaked havoc on American politics, and it’s likely only going to get worse as the 2024 election approaches. Politicians like Trump seem to be reaping the benefits of some AI deepfakes while using it as an excuse to make bad press go away.
A version of this article originally appeared on Gizmodo.