Fact Check: Did Trump post an AI image of a 6-fingered Navy sailor on social media?
WASHINGTON, DC: According to a post circulating on social media platforms, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of a 6-fingered Navy sailor eating a burger and boasting about the best food the military eats. While many appeared to believe the post to be real, others remained skeptical and called for a fact-check.
Claim: Trump posted an AI-generated image of a 6-fingered Navy sailor
The viral post surfaced last month as a screenshot, purportedly showing a post by the president on his official Truth Social handle.
The alleged post showed a 6-fingered Navy sailor eating a burger and was accompanied by a caption stating, “OUR MILITARY EATS THE BEST! Nobody feeds our brave troops better than me. The food is AMAZING - -the best military food EVER! Other countries wish they could feed their soldiers this well. TOTAL WIN!”
The screenshot has spread across multiple social media platforms including X, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Bluesky, garnering millions of views as of this writing.
The claim also drew speculation from online users who questioned its authenticity.
Fact Check: Donald Trump made no such post
However, the screenshot is fake as the president posted no such image on any of his social media handles.
Although Trump has posted several such AI-generated images, a search on his official Truth Social handle as well as the commentary accounts that automatically archive all his Truth Social posts for the caption showed no such post.
A search on Google to check if he has posted and then deleted the post also returned no credible reports by prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would not go unreported, given the debate about the conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln.
Donald Trump downplays conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln
The screenshot surfaced as the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier are preparing to land after more than 270 days at sea.
Earlier, Trump stirred a row after rejecting the mental health concerns of the crew aboard the carrier, saying that its lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough.” He added, “It’s moving out. Another, very similar, ship.”
The ship has been deployed since November and has now spent more than 250 days at sea, supporting US military operations in the Middle East in the conflict with Iran. Its deployment has stretched far beyond what sailors and families originally expected.
