Overview
- The White House X account shared a manipulated photo depicting civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong in tears after her FACE Act arrest, and aides dismissed criticism as “memes will continue.”
- Misinformation researchers told the Associated Press that official distribution of synthetic images erodes public trust and turns credible channels into vehicles for propaganda.
- Gizmodo reported that Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT would create the crying edit while Microsoft’s Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude refused, underscoring uneven guardrails across AI tools.
- Legal scholars said a defamation suit against the government would face steep hurdles, including proving a false factual claim, reputational harm, public‑figure status, and actual malice.
- Digital rights advocates noted analyses indicating the photo was altered and warned the manipulation could prejudice a future jury as video from the arrest also captured an agent promising the footage would not be posted.