Trump Truth Social post of Xi arrival altered with AI: AFP
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
An image published on Truth Social by US President Donald Trump depicting the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping appears to have been manipulated using generative artificial intelligence, according to digital forensics experts consulted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The photograph shows President Trump standing beside President Xi and performing a military salute on the tarmac.
However, direct comparisons between live media broadcasts, photos captured by AFP journalists, and the image posted on Truth Social uncovered numerous distinct inconsistencies.
The most prominent modification is the total absence of Trump's initial reaction to the loud roar of military jets during a low flyover.
Live video captured Trump grimacing at the sound—a moment that quickly circulated on social media platforms and was featured in a late-night monologue by television host Jimmy Fallon.
"An analysis of the image using specialized software identified traces left by generative AI with high confidence," Matthew Stamm, a media forensics expert at Drexel University, told AFP. He likened these digital artifacts to "fingerprints that a criminal leaves at a crime scene."
Tie, glove, and aircraft discrepancies
In addition to removing the president's facial reaction, digital forensic examination revealed multiple physical discrepancies between the altered post and live news agency footage.
In authentic press footage, Trump is seen wearing a striped necktie and gloves on both hands. In the Truth Social version, Trump is depicted wearing a plain blue tie without stripes and only a single black glove.
Further anomalies include a woman standing in the background depicted wearing two entirely different shoes, while a prominent red marking on President Xi’s aircraft was removed from the image.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment regarding the altered photograph.
Image published amid press boycott
While President Trump regularly shares AI-generated imagery and memes on his Truth Social account, this specific image was posted during a period of intense confrontation between the administration and the Washington press corps.
The White House recently barred correspondents from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from presidential coverage.
In a rare act of solidarity, the broader White House press pool -comprising major television networks and news organizations- suspended participation in pool coverage events.
Commenting on the broader implications of altered political imagery, Walter Scheirer, an expert at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, confirmed the image had been modified given the availability of original news agency visuals.
"Politicians modify reality as they see fit," Scheirer stated. "Sometimes these edits are innocuous, but in other cases, the interpretation of the photo completely changes in a manner more akin to propaganda."
