AI-generated images creating fake news on social media

Using artificial reality-related tools, images of public personalities are being edited to make them look like real images

Hyderabad: The rise of ChatGPT gave a push to all artificial reality-related tools that existed long before its parent company OpenAI was even founded. While this has helped many discover essential tools, it has also led to their misuse.

Using these advanced tools, images of public personalities are being edited to make them look like real images. And by giving them a scandalous headline, fake news is being spread. While some of these are being posted just in jest, others are taking a wrong turn.

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On Sunday, an account named AllYourTech posted an image of Elon Musk with GM CEO Mary Barra and claimed that the duo is dating. The image showed them both walking on a street hand-in-hand. “Breaking: Elon Musk is now dating GM CEO Mary Barra,” read the caption with a laughter emoji.

A Twitter context note by users read, “This is an AI generated image. There are currently no reports of any communications between Mary Barra and Elon Musk. Mary Barra is married to Anthony Barra,” proving the images to be fake. And although the following tweets cleared that the images were fabricated using AI, not all AI images come with that declaration and have the potential to harm.

After Trump claimed that he will be arrested in the following days, a bunch of images showing him being dragged by the police flooded social media, only to be proved later that they have been generated by AI, and hence fake. News publications had to run stories fact checking these images.

Even though fake news has been a part of the social media space for a long time now, these AI tools are now proving to be instrumental in making sure that these fake news bits are believable.

Breaking: Elon Musk is now dating GM CEO Mary Barra 🤣 pic.twitter.com/O0eVcy2uPn

— PixelDojo (@PixelDojoAI) March 26, 2023

Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump's arrest. pic.twitter.com/4D2QQfUpLZ

— @eliothiggins.bsky.social (@EliotHiggins) March 20, 2023