Every time Donald Trump gets indicted, a new wave of mugshots featuring the former president go viral on social media sites like Facebook and X. And Trump’s most recent indictment in Georgia on more than a dozen felonies is no different. But any mugshot you’ve seen of Trump online is fake. At least for now.
The image below was shared by Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, on Tuesday and has been seen by over 1 million people. But it was generated using artificial intelligence software. It’s not immediately clear what AI program was used to create the image, but some popular services include Stable Diffusion, DALL-E and Midjourney.
How do we know the fake photo was created with AI? There are several telltale signs to look for, including abnormal fingers and nonsense lettering. An example of bad lettering is prominent in the photo if you look just over Trump’s shoulder.
While Trump has now been indicted four times—including twice on federal charges, once in New York, and once in Georgia—none of the jurisdictions have yet to demand a photo be taken. But that could change after Trump surrenders himself in Georgia, as the local sheriff has indicated he’s likely to take a photo because it’s standard procedure.
“It doesn’t matter your status. We have a mugshot ready for you,” Fulton Sheriff Pat Labat told reporters last week.
Trump has until August 25 to surrender himself to authorities in Georgia, where he faces RICO charges over his plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The election was won by Joe Biden, but Trump has claimed he actually won and made a number of efforts to illegally stay in power, according to both federal prosecutors and the prosecutor in Georgia.
Trump’s presence in Georgia will no doubt create a scene, since he travels with Secret Service protection, a courtesy extended to former presidents. But barriers have already been erected and the Fulton County Jail is prepared to receive the president and his 18 codefendants at any time, according to a new report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Fake mugshots of Trump always go viral whenever he’s indicted and it seems like the 45th president may even welcome the idea of a mugshot being taken. Trump’s campaign started selling t-shirts with a fake mugshot back in April.
Trump has escalated his attacks against just about anyone and everyone in the judicial system in recent days. And the former president seemed particularly upset that special counsel Jack Smith gained access to his Twitter account, reportedly in an effort to look at Trump’s direct messages, according to a newly unsealed document.
“How dare lowlife prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, break into my former Twitter account without informing me and, indeed, trying to completely hide this atrocity from me,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“What could he possibly find out that is not already known. Just like the early morning raid of Mar-a-Lago! Why isn’t the DOJ raiding Crooked Joe Biden, the most CORRUPT (and Incompetent!) President in the history of the United States?” Trump continued.
Trump has refused to rejoin X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and has instead opted to stay on Truth Social, a service he started in 2022.
We don’t know what kind of Twitter/X messages prosecutors may have been looking for, but we’re likely to learn relatively soon. Smith has asked for a January 2024 trial date and the judge in that case, Tanya Chutkan, has indicated that she’ll move the trial to happen as quickly as possible if Trump tries to intimidate witnesses. But it remains to be seen whether any of Trump’s trials will run the risk of overlapping.
The District Attorney in Georgia, Fani Willis, indicated during a press conference on Monday night that she’s also going to push for a trial as quickly as possible. And until Trump surrenders, any mugshot you see if completely fake.
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