Did Trump use AI-edited photos to showcase White House renovations?
What's the story
President Donald Trump recently shared a series of photos on Truth Social, highlighting the renovation work at the White House. However, one of these images appears to have been altered using artificial intelligence (AI). The photo in question shows a "before and after" comparison of a restored White House column and has several inconsistencies that suggest it may have been digitally manipulated.
AI detection
Google's AI detector flagged the photo
Google's AI detector has flagged the photo as "made or edited with OpenAI." according to The Verge.
The image was found to be AI-generated when uploaded to Google's SynthID Detector, a tool that scans images, videos, and audio for an invisible watermark indicating it was "created or edited" with AI.
Image inconsistencies
Reddit users noted several discrepancies in the photo
Reddit users noted several discrepancies in the photo of the "restored" column.
For instance, there is an unequal number of steps on either side of the structure and they don't match those in the "before" photo.
The angle and detail of both images are almost identical; even the reflection seen through windows is nearly identical.
Further doubts
The 'newly-painted' column looks unnaturally smooth
The protective cardboard at the base of the column appears to be in the same position in both images, adding to the suspicion.
Also, the "newly-painted" column looks unnaturally smooth.
These factors further suggest that this image may have been digitally altered using AI technology.
Notably, the SynthID watermark was not detected on other photos shared by Trump. These images showed the White House facade and heliport.
This indicates that not all of Trump's posts are AI-altered or manipulated.