Donald Trump Deepfakes With Black Voters Fuel Outrage

Fake images of Donald Trump posing with Black voters have caused fury online.

Images generated using artificial intelligence (AI) of Trump posing with Black people were created by supporters of the former president and shared online. The images are identifiable as artificially created because of discrepancies such as missing or incorrectly generated fingers and uncharacteristically smooth skin that is common in false images.

The discovery was made by BBC Panorama. The images have not been directly linked to Trump’s campaign, the BBC said. Newsweek has contacted Trump’s office for comment via the contact form on his website outside of normal working hours.

Mark Kaye, a conservative radio host in Florida, admitted that he and his team generated one of the images.

“I’m not claiming it is accurate. I’m not saying, ‘Hey, look, Donald Trump was at this party with all of these African American voters. Look how much they love him!'” he told the BBC. “If anybody’s voting one way or another because of one photo they see on a Facebook page, that’s a problem with that person, not with the post itself.”

Another Trump supporter, known as Shaggy, allegedly created and posted an AI image of Trump posing on a porch with a group of Black men. He blocked the journalist who contacted him and later messaged the BBC to say: “[My posts] have attracted thousands of wonderful kind-hearted Christian followers.”

One X user, Charlotte, wrote: “That’s so shameful, on so many levels. Using a group of people as if they are some of political accessory is so low.”

Another, posting under the name Bob, said: “Trump and his supporters are so racist that they think obviously fake photos, gold sneakers, criminal charges, and blithering idiots like Scott, Donalds, Walker, etc. will attract Black voters. It’s both comical and pathetic.”

Cliff Albright, co-founder of campaign group Black Voters Matter, said the images are part of a “strategic narrative” aiming to appeal to Black voters.

“There have been documented attempts to target disinformation to Black communities again, especially younger black voters,” he told the BBC.

AI has already been used to influence voters in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, which is most likely to see Trump against President Joe Biden in a repeat of the 2020 election. Calls using an AI-generated voice made to sound like Biden were used to dissuade potential Democratic voters in New Hampshire from taking part in the primary in February.

According to a press release at the time, the calls encouraged voters to “save your vote for the November election,” as well as “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

“Ensuring public confidence in the electoral process is vital,” New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella said. “AI-generated recordings used to deceive voters have the potential to have devastating effects on the democratic election process.”