Fact Check: Are the eight women Donald Trump urged Iran to spare real?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following President Donald Trump’s request to Iran to release eight women, whom the Islamic Republic is allegedly preparing to hang, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that the women in the image shared by Trump are not real and are AI-generated. Let us analyse the images and fact-check the viral claim.
Claim: Eight Iranian women Trump urged Iran to spare being fake
The speculations surfaced after Trump, in a post on Truth Social, issued a direct public appeal to Iranian authorities, urging them to halt the reported imminent execution of eight women, placing the issue at the center of ongoing high-level negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan.
In a Truth Social post, the President called for their release, describing it as a potential opening step in broader diplomatic talks.
“I would greatly appreciate the release of these women… Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”
Trump wrote, responding to a widely circulated social media post by activist Eyal Yakoby, who had shared images of the eight women alongside claims that executions were being prepared.
In response to the post, the Iranian Embassy in Saudi Arabia posted on X, “Hurray, Trump saved 8 AI-generated people,” ridiculing the claim and suggesting the entire narrative was baseless.
Fact check: No evidence Iranian women Trump urged Iran to spare faced execution
According to Iranian officials, some of the women referenced had already been released, while others were facing charges that could lead to imprisonment, but not the death penalty. “The women who were claimed to be on the verge of execution… at most [face] imprisonment,” a judiciary statement said.
However, for multiple women on the list, clear legal charges have not been independently confirmed, and no detailed court records are publicly available. Much of the information originates from activist networks and advocacy groups. Independent verification of charges and legal proceedings is limited.
The portraits in the collage have a polished, glamorous, soft-focus look that many people immediately flagged as AI-generated.
According to Grok, all eight women in the story are not purely AI-generated, though the specific photos Trump reposted appear to have been AI-enhanced or manipulated in a collage format.
Trump claims Iran halted execution after his appeal
Trump on Wednesday, April 22, said Iran halted the planned execution of eight women protesters after he made a direct appeal to its leadership.
Trump described the development as “very good news” and credited his intervention for the outcome.
“Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” he wrote.
