Fact check: Is viral photo of Donald Trump donating $1,300 for hurricane relief real?

WASHINGTON, DC: As recovery operations progress in regions affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a photo showing former President Donald Trump making a charitable contribution to hurricane relief has gone viral.  

The image appears to be a screenshot from Fox News featuring Trump with a large novelty check for $1,300 made out to "Trump Manie Mar M AIFAL." Fox News headline in the image read, "TRUMP DONATING $1300 FOR HURRICANE RELIEF."

Some netizens have been circulating the image comparing his supposed charitable donation with those made by other celebrities.

On Sunday, October 13, an X (formerly Twitter) user shared the image with the caption, "Taylor Swift $5M Dolly Parton $1M Ryan Reynolds $1M Metallica $500k $1.3k is less than what Trump spends monthly on makeup and KFC." The post has garnered over three million views and 89,000 likes.

Others have shared it on platforms such as Reddit, Threads, and X, and many believe the image is genuine. So, let's learn the truth behind it. 

Did Donald Trump donate $1,300 to hurricane relief?

The image purported to be a Fox News screenshot showing former President Donald Trump with a large novelty check is not authentic; it seems to have been produced using generative artificial intelligence technology, as reported by Verify.

BBC Verify's senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh said that there was no evidence of Trump donating $1,300 to hurricane relief. The image in question likely originated from a satirical post by Reddit user u/BobbyKristina on the subreddit r/EnoughTrumpSpam.

Sardarizadeh wrote on X, "This image, viewed 500,000 times, claims to show Fox News reporting that Donald Trump is donating '$1,300 for hurricane relief'. The image is AI-generated and fake."

Evidence that the viral image of Donald Trump's $1,300 donation is fake

Fact-checking website Snopes claimed a common indicator of an image generated by AI is the presence of nonsensical sequences of letters or words, like "URA" and "Trump Manie Mar M AIFAL" found on a check for $1,300. 

Verify reported that after searching Fox News' website and social media, it found no evidence of a story indicating Trump donated $1,300 to hurricane relief. Additionally, upon contacting Fox News, a spokesperson confirmed via email that such a story did not exist, saying, "This did not air on Fox News."

Subsequently, the source examined the image and identified visual cues suggesting it was generated by AI.

AI tools frequently have difficulty producing realistic numbers, letters, textures, and background details. Additionally, the use of software commonly results in misshapen or distorted features in human representations.