Trump Slammed After Supporters Use Fake AI-Generated Images With Black People To Entice Voters

In an attempt to win over Black votes, supporters of Donald Trump are disseminating dozens of fake, AI-generated images of him with African Americans. Social media users have taken massive issue with this, slamming the Trump campaign.

In a recent investigation, BBC Panorama exposed the use of AI among groups of Trump supporters, while the program also stated that the supporters themselves appear to have developed the pictures. The images are unrelated to Trump's campaign, according to the evidence, The Guardian reports.

In the most recent AI-generated image to surface, Trump is shown standing with young Black men on a porch. Social media captions misrepresented Trump's convoy as having stopped for a photo with the group of youngsters. According to the BBC, many people were certain that the photographs were authentic, even though other internet users pointed out that they were phony.

One image was generated by conservative radio presenter Mark Kaye of Florida. “I’m not out there taking pictures of what’s really happening. I’m a storyteller,” Kaye told BBC. “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.’”

However, many social media users see how problematic this is, especially since AI-generated content has been known to cause electoral misinformation. A user slammed Trump on X, saying, "These are the only black Trump supporters, you can't find and interview them, they are only available in AI-generated images lol."

Another user made fun of Trump, saying on X, "Trump can’t get real black people to support him so he’s resorted to posting AI-generated images of himself with black people. SMH," while another user slammed the Ballot verdict too, sharing on X, "Trump is now free to run - And Continue to LIE to the American people as his followers post these FAKE AI-generated images of Trump having Black supporters."

According to Douglas, an Atlanta cab driver, he first thought one of the images was authentic, which strengthened his belief that Trump supported the Black community. “Well, that’s the thing about social media. It’s so easy to fool people,” he said.

In six crucial swing states, only 71% of Black voters, down from 92% in 2020, would support President Joe Biden again, according to a recent NYTimes and Siena College survey. This leaves an opportunity for the Trump campaign. The primary PAC supporting Trump, Make America Great Again Inc., is scheduled to begin an advertising campaign this week targeted at Black voters in Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Cliff Albright, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, stated that the AI-generated images seem to be a part of a comeback of misinformation strategies used against Black voters in the 2020 election. “There have been documented attempts to target disinformation to black communities again, especially younger black voters,” Albright told the BBC.