AI-Altered Image of Alex Pretti Reaches US Senate Floor, Exposing Misinformation Crisis

This AI-Enhanced Photo of Alex Pretti Was Aired by Major News Outlets

The cable news channel MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, aired an AI-edited photo of Alex Pretti, the protester who was killed by border agents in Minneapolis. MS NOW tells Snopes that it did not make the edit itself, rather it took the image from the internet without realizing that it had been edited. Many, including podcaster Joe Rogan, criticized MS NOW for making Pretti "appear more handsome". The edit makes Pretti's shoulders appear broader, his skin more tanned, and his nose less pronounced. A spokesperson from MS NOW tells Snopes that the network didn't make the edit itself, the way Rogan and others have suggested. Indeed, other news organizations, including the Daily Mail and International Business Times, ran the same AI-enhanced image. The original photo was sourced from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs official portrait of Pretti, where he worked as an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse. That image is a photo of a photo, hence the poor quality. Someone, it's not clear who (likely an internet user), ran that lo-fi image through a generative AI model to get a clearer image of Pretti. When feeding an image into an AI model like ChatGPT or Google's Nano Banana and asking it to improve the quality, the AI takes the image and text as a prompt and creates a novel image. While it will be close to the original photo, it is no longer a representation of reality. AI models also have biases where it tends to make people better-looking, hence why Pretti appears more attractive. MS NOW did not respond to PetaPixel's request for clarification. The Pretti portrait is not the only AI creation that spread misinformation from Minnesota. Another one that purportedly showed the moment Pretti was shot and killed was also AI-generated. Reuters reports the viral image does not match the multiple videos taken of Pretti's death. Meanwhile, the White House published a manipulated photo of a protester being arrested -- altering the face of Nekima Levy Armstrong so it looked like she was crying with tears streaming down her face when in reality she wore a stoic expression.

'Misrepresent reality': AI-altered shooting image surfaces in US Senate

Washington (United States) (AFP) - An AI-enhanced image depicting the moments before immigration agents shot an American nurse ricocheted across the internet -- and also made its way onto the hallowed floor of the US Senate. Social media platforms are awash with graphic footage from the moment US agents shot and killed 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide outrage. One frame from the grainy footage was digitally altered using artificial intelligence, AI experts told AFP. The manipulated image, which purports to show Pretti surrounded by officers as one points a gun at his head, spread rapidly across Instagram, Facebook, X, and Threads. It contained several digital distortions, including a headless agent. "I am on the Senate floor to condemn the killing of US citizens at the hands of federal immigration officers," Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, wrote on X Thursday, sharing a video of his speech in which he displayed the AI-enhanced image. "And to demand the Trump Administration take accountability for its actions." In comments beneath his post, several X users demanded an apology from the senator for promoting the manipulated image. On Friday, Durbin's office acknowledged the mistake. "Our office used a photo on the Senate floor that had been widely circulated online. Staff didn't realize until after the fact that the image had been slightly edited and regret that this mistake occurred," the senator's spokesperson told AFP. 'Advancing an agenda' The gaffe underscores how lifelike AI visuals -- even those containing glaring errors -- are seeping into everyday discourse, sowing confusion during breaking news events and influencing political debate at the highest levels. The AI-enhanced image also led some social media users to falsely claim the object in Pretti's right hand was a weapon, but analysis of the verified footage showed he was holding a phone. That analysis contradicted claims by officials in President Donald Trump's administration that Pretti posed a threat to officers. Disinformation watchdog NewsGuard said the use of AI tools to enhance details of witness footage can lead to fabrications that "misrepresent reality, in service to advancing an agenda." "AI tools are increasingly being used on social media to 'enhance' unclear images during breaking news events," NewsGuard said in a report. "AI 'enhancements' can invent faces, weapons, and other critical details that were never visible in original footage -- or in real life." The trend underscores a new digital reality in which fake images -- created or distorted using artificial intelligence tools -- often go viral on social media in the immediate aftermath of major news events such as shootings. "Even subtle changes to the appearance of a person can alter the reception of an image to be more or less favorable," Walter Scheirer, from the University of Notre Dame, told AFP, referring to the distorted image presented at the US Senate. "In the recent past, creating lifelike visuals took some effort. However now, with AI, this can be done instantly, making such content available to politicians on command." On Friday, the Trump administration charged a prominent journalist Don Lemon and others with civil rights crimes over coverage of immigration protests in Minneapolis, as the president branded Pretti an "agitator." Pretti's killing marked the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis protester this month by federal agents. Earlier this month, AI deepfakes flooded online platforms following the killing of another protester -- 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. AFP found dozens of posts across social media, in which users shared AI-generated images purporting to "unmask" the agent who shot her. Some X users used AI chatbot Grok to digitally undress an old photo of Good.