The longer we live with AI, the better we become at spotting fake content being paraded and presented as reality. Right?
Well, no actually. Since AI is constantly getting better at what it’s asked to do, it looks very much like we’re not far from a future wherein what is real and what is fabricated is virtually indistinguishable.
A predictable by-product of the line blurring is that people are already trying to pass off fake content – images, videos etc – as being genuine. What’s more, it doesn’t take long at all for such content to spread like wildfire around the internet.
Case in point: the photo of Donald Trump and White House aide Natalie Harp “kissing on a golf course”, which has gained significant traction online over the past 24 hours.
If one is to believe the rumors, the image depicts the POTUS kissing 35-year-old Harp at his golf course in Doonbeg, County Clare this weekend during his state visit to Ireland.
The photograph swept across social media today, September 15. Within hours, the image had been shared thousands of times, with users questioning the nature of Trump’s relationship with Harp and others using it to fuel speculation about the president’s marriage.
There is, naturally, one major problem: the photograph is not real.
Reports examining the image in question highlighted several inconsistencies, including unusual details regarding the figures and objects found in the scene.
One such detail is that Harp appears to have six fingers on her hand in the image. Artificial-intelligence detection tools have also reportedly indicated that the photograph may have been generated or manipulated using AI.
Harp has become one of the president’s closest aides after joining the Trump administration in 2022, and is frequently seen accompanying him, including on golf trips.
She has also been described as a key figure in managing Trump’s social-media operation, while the timing of this viral photo has helped fuel the frenzy. Just days ago, Harp was photographed travelling with Trump during his trip to Ireland, while First Lady Melania Trump remained away from the trip.
Read more:
