Trump says falsely that Harris campaign used AI to create fake crowd in Detroit.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, two prominent political figures, recently visited Michigan as part of their campaign tour. However, their visit was met with controversy when former President Donald Trump alleged that Harris’ campaign had lied about the size of the crowd attending her rally in Detroit. Despite Trump’s claims, videos from the event clearly show a large crowd present at the Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport where the rally took place. Local reporters estimated that around 15,000 people were in attendance, and various news agencies, including Reuters and Getty Images, also captured similar images of the event.

Trump’s doubts were fueled by a photo shared on social media, which he believed was artificially created using AI technology. However, experts, including Hany Farid from the University of California, Berkeley, have debunked these claims, stating that there is no evidence to suggest that the image was digitally altered. Despite these clarifications, Trump and his supporters continued to spread false information on social media platforms, furthering the controversy surrounding the event.

The Harris campaign responded to these accusations by sharing additional footage from the rally to showcase the legitimate size of the crowd. However, misinformation continued to circulate, with fake images and claims being shared widely online. One such image, featuring AI-generated faces posing as Harris supporters, was falsely attributed to the Harris campaign by some users. Similarly, a fake Craigslist advertisement for paid actors to attend a political event in Phoenix was also debunked by fact-checkers.

Trump’s claims about crowd sizes have been a recurring theme in recent days, with the former president boasting about the attendance at his own rallies. During a news conference, Trump even compared the size of the crowd at his rally on Jan. 6, 2021, to Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Despite official estimates clearly showing that King’s speech had a larger audience, Trump maintained his belief that he has attracted the largest crowds in history.

Overall, the visit of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to Michigan was marred by controversy and misinformation, highlighting the impact of social media in shaping public perceptions of political events. Despite efforts to debunk false claims and provide evidence of the rally’s attendance, the spread of misinformation has continued to influence public discourse surrounding the campaign tour.