Ron DeSantis Attack Ad Against Donald Trump Uses Fake AI-Generated Images

The Ron DeSantis campaign attempted to frame President Trump as a Fauci supporter in its latest attack ad.

However, they used some dirty tricks in the ad.

The ad contains AI-generated photos of Trump cozying up to Fauci.

WATCH:

Donald Trump became a household name by FIRING countless people *on television*

But when it came to Fauci… pic.twitter.com/7Lxwf75NQm

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 5, 2023

DeSantis’ dishonest team used AI pictures in one of their latest attack ads on Trump.

All team DeSantis does is LIE! pic.twitter.com/f6Qo5hvUl4

— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) June 8, 2023

“The fake images depict Trump kissing Fauci on the cheek, allowing the DeSantis campaign to frame Trump as a close supporter of Fauci’s policies combating COVID-19,” The Verge reports.

DeSantis attack ad uses fake AI images of Trump embracing Fauci https://t.co/PA74FsDea4 pic.twitter.com/2zsX01io58

— The Verge (@verge) June 8, 2023

“This crosses the line,” Timcast IRL host Tim Pool wrote.

Holy fuck this is dirty as shit

DeSantis War Room is running AI Images of Trump embracing Fauci

This crosses the line https://t.co/yH06jfhznV pic.twitter.com/dEVqXAPez2

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) June 8, 2023

“I was 55/45 for Trump/DeSantis. Now Im 0% for DeSantis,” he added.

I was 55/45 for Trump/DeSantis

Now Im 0% for DeSantis

Using AI images to smear Trump is a hard fuck you

DeSantis must disavow https://t.co/yH06jfhznV

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) June 8, 2023

“Hey @elonmusk How come Trump supporters get community noted for posting facts about @RonDeSantis but then his campaign is allowed to post doctored AI generated images on Trump embracing Fauci and nothing happens? Just seems a bit biased,” said investigative journalist Laura Loomer.

Hey @elonmusk

How come Trump supporters get community noted for posting facts about @RonDeSantis but then his campaign is allowed to post doctored AI generated images on Trump embracing Fauci and nothing happens?

Just seems a bit biased. #Trump2024 https://t.co/TTZeEdL6Jg

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 8, 2023

The Verge reports:

The campaign backing Ron DeSantis as Republican presidential nominee in 2024 has used what experts identify as AI-generated deepfakes in attack ad against rival Donald Trump.

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On June 5th, the “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account shared a video emphasizing Trump’s support for Anthony Fauci, a former White House chief medical advisor and key figure in developing the US response to COVID-19. Fauci has become a hated figure in right-wing politics, particularly among the anti-vax movement, and the attack ad seeks to grow this base of support for DeSantis by portraying Trump and Fauci as close collaborators.

The video includes real clips of Trump discussing Fauci and a collage of six pictures of the two men together. Of the six images, three appear to be AI-generated, showing Trump embracing Fauci. In the collage below they are top-left, bottom-middle, and bottom-right.

The fakes were first identified by AFP, who note that the real images in the collage above can be seen here, here, and here. The three fake images show no results in reverse image searches and have a number of tells that suggest they are AI-generated.