Trump's claims of Kamala Harris' election rally crowd photo being 'AI-doctored' are false, say experts

WASHINGTON, DC: AI experts stated that a photograph of the crowd at the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz rally in Michigan over the weekend was not doctored by AI, as claimed by their political rival Donald Trump, reported the Daily Mail on Tuesday, August 12. The image did bear signs of being heavily edited to enhance the quality, but it was probably done using basic filters.

Former president and GOP nominee Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, to claim that he "caught her (Harris) with a fake 'crowd'," while sharing an image of a massive crowd on a runway strip welcoming Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as they got off a plane for their campaign rally.

MAGA supporters were quick to follow suit, with the likes of conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza highlighting the reflection on the plane to back the claim.

Harris' campaign was quick to respond to the allegations, posting on X (formerly Twitter) on the same day, " One. This is an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan. Two. Trump has still not campaigned in a swing state in over a week... Low energy?"

Expert opinions on the rally crowd picture

Multiple tech experts who ran the image through AI manipulation detecting software reportedly told the Daily Mail that there was only a four percent chance of the image being warped by AI software, so the possibility can be safely rejected. While there are chances of the photograph being filtered and edited for enhancement, the absence of the crowd in the reflection on the plane is because of the plane's curved reflective surface.

Professor Hany Farid from the University of California, who analyzed the photo with two models trained to detect patterns of generative AI, told the publication, "Neither model found any evidence of manipulation."

"Comparing several versions of this photo, I think the only alteration was some simple brightness/contrast and perhaps sharpening," he added, before explaining that on the curved reflecting surface of the plane, "objects above and below the surface are most visible and dominate the reflection" such as the sky and tarmac.

"Objects that are further away and more centered are compressed and less visible," such as crowds standing directly in front of the plane, he shared.

John Renaud, founder of AI image verification tool Winston AI, seconded Farid's opinion in his own findings. Running the image through his system, he determined the image to be "96 percent human." He also said that the use of regular editing tools may have contributed to the overall impression that something was off with the image.

Internet continues to criticize Kamala Harris

MAGA supporters reacting to the news on the Daily Mail website continued their attack on the Vice President and raised doubt over the controversial image. The following examples demonstrate the predominant takes.

"Are these the only photos of the event?? There were numerous phones taking pics and videos at the time. Should be pretty easy to prove or disprove what Trump is saying. Talk about weird," wrote a person.

"FYI, no one is winning this election based on finding out the other doctored a campaign photo. We’re going to need more substance," stated a MAGA supporter.

"Twitter has literally devolved into a massive fight over crowd sizes. As we learned in 2020,(Trump lost) crowd sizes mean absolutely nothing. What matters is who counts the votes," expressed another.

"It's hard to believe there would be THAT many people excited about seeing their groceries double in price again," jibed someone else.

"This is at a US airport? What did TSA do? Screen all these people? " inquired one user.

"Even if the pictures are proven true, it is also true Kamala is simply copying Trump when it comes to crowds greeting him at the airport," quipped yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.