Fact Check: Is this a real image of Trump, Russell Brand, and Conor McGregor?

WASHINGTON, DC: A viral social media image claims to show President Donald Trump posing alongside several well-known personalities. The image has sparked curiosity and discussions online, with many questioning whether the group really came together for the photograph. Is the image real? Let's fact-check the claim.

Claim: An image showed Trump posing with Russell Brand and other public figures

An image circulated widely on social media, claiming to show US President Donald Trump posing for a photograph alongside comedian Russell Brand, social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, mixed martial artist Conor McGregor, former boxer Mike Tyson and former American football player Lawrence Taylor.

In the image, Trump is seen giving a thumbs-up while standing among the group. An X post sharing the alleged photograph listed the names of the individuals and made allegations linking them to sexual offences. The post stated: "Every MAGAt in this picture has been accused, indicted, convicted of, or found civilly liable for s*x crimes. Three are currently in jail."

The post also listed allegations against each individual. It claimed that Andrew and Tristan Tate had been indicted or charged with multiple counts of human trafficking; Trump had been found civilly liable in the E. Jean Carroll case.

Fact Check: The image is fake

The image is fake and was created or edited using artificial intelligence (AI). There is no real photograph published by any credible media outlet showing all these men together.

There is also no reliable evidence or news report suggesting that they met at the same gathering. A fact-checking website checked the image using Google Gemini's SynthID detection tool, which looks for digital watermarks added to AI-generated or edited images.

The scan detected a SynthID watermark and concluded that "this image was generated or edited with Google AI, and a SynthID watermark was detected."People can also upload an image to Google Gemini and ask, "Does this image have a SynthID watermark?" to check whether it contains one.

However, the absence of a SynthID watermark does not automatically mean an image is real, as it may have been created using other AI tools.

There are also visible signs that the image may have been generated using AI. The men's faces appear blurred, the overall image quality is poor, and a video camera behind Brand seems to create an unnatural glow towards the photographer.

A reverse image search on Google also found no reports or photographs from credible media outlets showing the men together. If such a photograph were genuine, it would likely have received wider media coverage.

Although the individuals pictured have had varying degrees of association with Trump and his administration, this does not prove that they attended the same gathering.