The viral images are immediately shocking: Former US President Donald Trump, in clear distress, is being held by five police officers in the first. In the second, he is being fought to the ground by those same police officers, with many more looking on.
“HOLY SH** THEY GOT TRUMP” said Twitter user @kiracantmizz,” following that up with a photo of Trump then running away from those police officers with a shocked and scared look on his face.
“Are they real?” asked many, including Twitter user @russianbarbii with 700 likes at press time, adding, “or has AI gotten that good?”
To answer her question, she’s right–AI has just gotten that good. The image are indeed fake.
Others of course, clearly guessed that these were AI images, with some turning the photos immediately into album covers or other memes.
Inside Midjourney v5: How the fake Donald Trump photos were achieved
The images were made by AI photo generation program Midjourney, which just released its latest version, v5, on March 16.
The update has alarmed many, as some of the telltale signs of the previous versions, namely the app’s inability to properly generate fingers or believable looking hands, are no longer in place, and photorealism has been achieved to a shocking degree.
So, no, to reiterate, Donald Trump has not been arrested, these are just AI generated.
Looking closely, many have noticed the images still do have errors, thankfully, with an errant leg seen in the second photograph, and one of policemen’s hands including a Simpsons-like four fingers, as seen below.
Midjourney has astounding implications only barely felt with this one viral tweet.
As one user pointed out, “2023 really will be the year when real and unreal are completely blurred.”
Others, of course, do not see the app as a danger, they see it as an extraordinary leap forward.
“Just a reminder that Midjourney v5 is absolutely phenomenal,” said Bilawal Sindhu.
So, does one view this as a remarkable leap forward or a danger to society? The answer is still up for debate, but as we can see from the above photos, the dangers are clearly there.
And in the real world, there is of course a chance Trump actually will be arrested, according to reports. But don’t trust any images until you can independently confirm them.