Republicans fooled by AI-generated image of US airman rescued in Iran

共和党人惨遭 AI 伪造图片欺骗:美军伊朗获救飞行员照全是假的

Fake image of crew member surrounded by smiling military members has been reshared more than 21,000 times on X

共和党人被一张 AI 生成的 “美军飞行员在伊朗获救” 图片彻底欺骗。这张伪造照片显示机组人员被微笑的军人包围,在 X 平台被转发超 2.1 万次。

Republican politicians were hoaxed over the weekend by an image purporting to be a downed US warplane crew member rescued by military special forces in Iran on Saturday, igniting a call for a national “crash course in media literacy”.

上周末,美国共和党政客集体遭骗局:一张宣称是美军战机坠毁后机组人员在伊朗被特种部队救出的照片,全是 AI 伪造。此事直接引爆舆论,全美呼吁紧急开设媒体素养速成课。

Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general and a US Senate candidate, and Mike Lawler, a New York representative, were all caught out for “liking” a fake picture of the airman, who has not been publicly identified.

得州州长格雷格・阿博特、得州总检察长兼联邦参议员候选人肯・帕克斯顿、纽约州联邦众议员迈克・劳勒,全都中招点赞了这张匿名飞行员的伪造照片。

Donald Trump on Monday afternoon was scheduled to hold a news conference in which he was expected to discuss details of the rescue mission.

特朗普原定周一下午召开新闻发布会,专门宣布这次 “救援行动” 的细节。

The AI-generated image that fooled the Republican politicos was shared by a proTrump X account. The supposed airman is shown surrounded by smiling military members, with a US flag draped across his lap.

欺骗一众共和党高官的 AI 伪造图,由一个亲特朗普 X 账号首发。照片中所谓的 “获救飞行员” 被微笑的军人包围,腿上盖着美国国旗。

The fake image has been reshared more than 21,000 times on the X platform and now carries a warning: “This photo probable AI generated.”

这张假图在 X 平台转发超 2.1 万次,目前已被标注警告:此照片大概率为 AI 生成。

“This is so awesome,” Abbott wrote to his 1.4 million X followers in a since-dexed post. Alluding to how the rescue operation began and ended, respectively, on Friday and Sunday of Easter weekend, the governor added: “God is sending a message to our enemies!”

得州州长阿博特曾向 140 万粉丝发文:“这太震撼了!” 他还暗示救援行动在复活节周末周五启动、周日结束,并称 “上帝正在向我们的敌人传递信号!” 目前该帖已删除。

Lawler also shared the picture, adding the caption: “God Bless America!”

众议员劳勒也转发了照片,配文:“上帝保佑美国!”

AI slop around news events has rapidly become commonplace. After US forces seized Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan dictator, in January, AI-generated images flooded social media of him being escorted off a plane by US law enforcement agents, jubilant Venezuelans, and missiles raining down on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

AI 伪造新闻事件图片已成常态。今年 1 月美军抓捕委内瑞拉总统马杜罗后,社交媒体也被 AI 假图刷屏:马杜罗被美方执法人员带下飞机、委内瑞拉民众狂欢、导弹袭击加拉加斯等。

At the time, NewsGuard’s misinformation editor, Sofia Rubinson, said that fake images were sometimes plausible because they “do not drastically distort the facts on the ground”.

当时,新闻卫士(NewsGuard)虚假信息编辑索菲亚・鲁宾森称,部分假图看似逼真,是因为它们没有彻底歪曲事实。

But Rubinson warned “the use of AI-generated fabrications and dramatic, out-of-context footage is being used to fill gaps in real-time reporting and represents another tactic in the misinformation wars”.

但鲁宾森警告:“利用 AI 伪造内容、断章取义的夸张画面填补实时报道空白,已是虚假信息战的新手段。”

After Abbott’s error, Billy Binion of the libertarian magazine Reason wrote: “This kind of stuff is bleak. I get that we’re in a new era, but we desperately need a new crash course in media literacy, or just a reminder to be remotely discerning.”

阿博特闹乌龙后,自由主义杂志《理性》的比利・比尼恩写道:“这种事太离谱了。我们确实进入了新时代,但迫切需要全民媒体素养速成课,至少提醒大家有点辨别能力。”

The Texas governor, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday, has been duped before.

这位得州州长周一未回应置评请求,而他早已不是第一次上当。

In March, he posted what he believed was footage of an Iranian plane being shot down by a US warship – but the film was taken from the second world war-themed video game War Thunder.

今年 3 月,他曾转发一段 “美军战舰击落伊朗飞机” 的视频,结果画面来自二战题材游戏《战争雷霆》。

Furthermore, in 2023, he was widely mocked after sharing a fake article about the country singer Garth Brooks being booed off a Texas stage over supporting Bud Light while the beer brand faced real-life criticism from US political conservatives for working with trans Dylan Mulvaney.

2023 年,他还转发假新闻,宣称乡村歌手加斯・布鲁克斯因支持百威啤酒被得州观众轰下台,当时百威正因与跨性别网红迪伦・马尔瓦尼合作遭保守派抵制,此事让他沦为全网笑柄。

Republicans are not the only political customers for image fakes.

并非只有共和党人被 AI 假图欺骗。

An AI-generated picture of Trump using a walker uploaded by the Democratic party strategist Keith Edwards was viewed about 13.5m times in December, according to an article in Futurism.

据《未来主义》报道,民主党策略师基思・爱德华兹去年 12 月发布的 AI 假图 —— 特朗普拄助行器,播放量达 1350 万次。

Gavin Newsom, the California governor, has become practiced at posting AI-generated fakes to reinforce political messaging, including one that showed Trump, Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller being led away by the FBI in handcuffs.

加州州长加文・纽森也擅长用 AI 假图造势,包括一张特朗普、皮特・赫格塞斯、斯蒂芬・米勒被 FBI 戴手铐带走的伪造照。

A fake image of federal agents surrounding the Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti with one holding a gun against his head was widely shared after a border patrol officer killed Pretti in January.

今年 1 月边境巡逻警察枪杀明尼阿波利斯 ICU 护士亚历克斯・普雷蒂后,一张联邦特工围堵他、枪指其头的假图疯传。

Fakes were also created after Renee Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent days earlier.

而在此几天前,移民与海关执法局(ICE)特工枪杀蕾妮・古德后,也出现了大量伪造图片。

“Details can get mistaken or altered in a way that is dangerous in these very volatile situations,” Hany Farid, a University of California digital forensics expert, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

加州大学数字取证专家哈尼・法里德告诉《明尼阿波利斯星坛报》:“在这种高度敏感的局势中,信息被篡改、误传会造成极大危险。”

“In the fog of war and in conflict, it is just really messy, and we are simply adding noise to an already complicated and difficult situation.”

“战争迷雾与冲突局势本就混乱不堪,AI 造假只是在本就复杂的局面中添乱。”