There's a word that describes people who claim they need to tell lies to communicate a deeper truth, and that word is...

[demmiblue]

..."liar".

People acknowledging that this image is AI but still insisting that it's real on some deeper level...

I am going to become the Joker.

Link to tweet

The picture in question, which had also been shared by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), showed a crying girl holding a puppy being rescued from what appeared to be the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

...

Kremer is a right-wing political activist who has been using her feed to torch the Joe Biden administration for supposedly mishandling the response to Helene (though there’s little evidence that the response has been in any way mishandled). She’s an RNC National Committeewoman for Georgia Republicans, the founder of Women for Trump, and most famously helped organize the rally that immediately preceded the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

...

Actually, it does matter if this is AI.

This girl does not exist. The puppy does not exist. This is not reality. No, the image is not “emblematic” of some deeper truth. That is nonsense. There are plenty of real photos that can be used to make whatever politically-motivated point these partisan opportunists want to make.

https://www.readtpa.com/p/people-are-sharing-fake-hurricane

[The Madcap]

1. Hard to tell on this one

Other than the normal hazy background blur, this one's difficult. After all, the "girl" has only five fingers on her right hand.

I really hate AI...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. 4 fingers and thumb (makes 5) on her right hand, only 3 fingers on her left hand (the latter being the tell). . . .nt

[The Roux Comes First]

2. Lying and Other Sick Behaviors

Are still sick and anti-social, JD! Don't you have some caring family who can get you help for that?

[CrispyQ]

3. I don't care that it's fake if it supports my beliefs.

There's a lot of that going around on the right.

[TheProle]

4. Not sure it's just "on the right"

what with the "it sounds like something he'd say, so let's just say he said it" folks...

[demmiblue]

14. Indeed. n/t

[Xoan]

5. CHILDREN LOVE TO PRETEND.

EVEN IF THEY'RE OVER 18.

[Shermann]

6. You need to be particularly skeptical of still photos these days

AI can generate videos as well, but not as convincingly. That is going to take a lot more development. In the meantime, look for video evidence to back up claims.

[demmiblue]

8. It is amazing, and scary, how far AI videos have come in such a short period of time:

Link to tweet

[DBoon]

7. This has been going on a long time

Almost 100 years in fact

The original had Nikolai Yezhov to Stalin's left. After Nikolai was purged, the modified photo was released, as "emblematic" of the regime

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_images_in_the_Soviet_Union

What required a Soviet photography work in a darkroom can now more easily be done with AI

[central scrutinizer]

9. They should have added

A dark skinned person with a bib and knife and fork approaching the girl and puppy.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Reminds me of those kitsch paintings of big-eyed children.

It would be more believable if it hadn't been overdone.

https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:eco%2Cw_520/MTc2MjU5NjM0NjU3NTY3OTM0/margaretkeane.webp

[demmiblue]

15. Margaret Keane... Amy Adams portrayed her in the movie "Big Eyes".

A drama centered on the awakening of the painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.

Interesting flick!

[lame54]

12. She's being rescued..

Even their b.s. can't make their point

[PennRalphie]

13. This photo is no real, but

The suffering of the people of NC, GA, VA, FL cannot be dismissed. I just hope it’s all being handled correctly. NC Governor and Biden are on top of things, I think.