Fact Check: Rumors About Pics Showing Biden in Military Uniform Spread. Here's the Truth

X user @luke_brocks
X user @luke_brocks

Claim:

Photographs shared on Jan. 29, 2024, authentically showed U.S. President Joe Biden in a military combat uniform.

Rating:

Rating: Fake
Rating: Fake

On Jan. 29, 2024, multiple photographs were circulated online that purportedly depicted U.S. President Joe Biden in military combat uniform.

"The Commander-in-Chief planning the upcoming devastating strikes against America's numerous enemies," one post on X (formerly Twitter) read. "This cannot be real," another user captioned the photograph. Google reverse-image search results showed the images were shared online dozens of times.

(X user @The_Real_Fly)

Because the photographs had various signs of being AI-generated, we have rated this claim as "Fake." For instance, social media users noticed that Biden had six fingers in one of the pictures.

In another image, the text visible on Biden's uniform was illegible (see the image below).

(X user @luke_brocks)

Moreover, in the third picture the phone cord was dissolving into Biden's forearm, while an unidentified object was visible on the table.

(X user @luke_brocks)

AI-detection software Hive showed the photographs were 100% likely to be AI-generated.

Finally, the original poster of the images acknowledged on X that the photographs were created using AI:

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but it took me about a minute to see the original post, generate my own AI images, and post it in the replies.

If I spent 10 minutes cleaning it up, it'd be a lot harder to decipher.

If you don't want to be deceived by AI-generated images and videos in the future, read our tips for detecting them.

Sources:

Lee, David Emery, Jessica. “4 Tips for Spotting AI-Generated Pics.” Snopes, 16 Apr. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/articles/464595/artificial-intelligence-media-literacy/.