Recently, Donald Trump fans in Florida and Michigan have been auto-generating and spreading around faked “pictures” of Trump surrounded by crowds of Black supporters—and earning significant traction for doing so. Coming at a time when President Joe Biden is worried about losing the Black voters who came out for his 2020 election, the Trump images have become a whole new subgenre of A.I. sludge. And no one in any position of power appears to know what to do about it.
Last month, BBC Panorama reported on the proliferation of these deceitful likenesses. The first example displayed Trump at a Christmas party with his arm around a couple of Black women, one of whom is seen wearing a Pen & Pixel–style tank; another shows him sitting on a house porch with six young Black men, smiling with his hands clasped. Both images gained substantial traction on Facebook, sans disclosure that they were A.I.-generated, and were misleadingly appended as context for stories on Trump’s increasing appeal to Black voters.
Nobody is going to save this photo and use it as evidence later on. But it will enter the subconscious of some voters to help justify their support of him.