White House promotes 'Trump TV' with AI-altered photo, France 24 reports

The White House posted an image on its X, Facebook and Instagram accounts that appeared to show a packed aeroplane cabin with passengers watching Trump TV on seat-back screens, according to France 24. 'It's what everybody is watching,' the White House said in the post, France 24 reported. The post promoted what the White House described as another 'HUGE week' of administration events and directed viewers to Trump TV, according to France 24. The post did not disclose that the image had been altered, France 24 reported.

France 24 reported that the photograph is not an authentic image of passengers watching the White House stream. An analysis using OpenAI's image-verification technology detected a SynthID watermark — a marker that can indicate content was made or changed with an AI tool — according to France 24. A reverse-image search, which traces earlier postings of an image, led to the original photograph, posted online in February 2023, France 24 reported.

France 24 reported the photo was taken from a personal social media post and repurposed. The original image showed passengers watching the NFL's Super Bowl LVII during a flight, according to France 24. One passenger appeared to be watching the 2005 romantic comedy 'Hitch', starring Will Smith, and the original poster made light of this, France 24 reported.

The White House version kept the original scene but changed what appeared on the passengers' screens, creating the impression that the whole cabin was watching Trump TV, according to France 24. France 24 reported the image was used to promote Trump TV, which launched in September as a 24-hour YouTube stream featuring footage of Trump and other White House and administration events. The launch came during what France 24 described as the administration's feud with several major news organisations, after Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House.

France 24 reported the post came after recent comments by President Donald Trump about artificial intelligence. Trump has dismissed concerns about AI as a "hoax" and said on Truth Social that the "only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a strong and smart president," according to France 24.