Trump Appears to Post Fake Image of Himself as a Star NFL Player

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shared what seems to be an AI-generated image of himself as a star NFL player on Truth Social on October 21.

During his visit to Pennsylvania yesterday, Trump held a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, served French fries at a McDonald's in Bucks County, and attended a football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets.

Arriving midway through the first quarter, Trump received a warm welcome from Steelers fans, whom he thanked on Truth Social. He wrote, "Thank you to the Steelers fans for the great reception tonight. November 5th will be the most important day in the history of our Country! MAGA2024!!!"

Verified photos show Trump at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, where he wore a blue suit and a red tie while seated in a suite. However, the image he posted on Truth Social features him on a football field in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey, with no evidence that he was ever on the field during the game. The photo also appears to have been altered to make his torso and arms look more muscular than in other images of him in sports attire, such as those shared on Trump Golf's Instagram account in July.

An analysis using the image detector "Is It AI?" indicated that the photo has an 81 percent likelihood of being AI-generated. Another site, AIimagedetector.org, also concluded that the image is primarily AI-generated, estimating that it is about 30 percent human and nearly 70 percent AI.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment outside of business hours, as well as to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is not the first instance of Trump posting digitally altered images on social media; in August, he shared a photo of himself and various allies depicted in what appeared to be photoshopped superhero outfits. Additionally, he shared a widely circulated image of himself kneeling in prayer, which was determined to be likely AI-generated, according to Forbes.

Trump has also posted AI-generated images of his critics. In August, he shared fake images suggesting Taylor Swift had endorsed him, as well as an AI-generated photo of Kamala Harris speaking in Chicago with a communist flag in the background.