On March 17-18, a photo of French President Emmanuel Macron was disseminated on Facebook (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), the identical photo was also published by a Russian-speaking Facebook user and the English edition of the Russian publication Pravda. In the circulated photo, Emmanuel Macron is wearing pink pajamas and is sitting on the bed. Some Facebook users perceive Macron’s photo as real. Also, in some descriptions, it is indicated that in this form, Macron is preparing for battle, to restrain the Russian army and to “take Moscow.”
The photo of Emmanuel Macron wearing pink pajamas has been generated by artificial intelligence (AI). It was first published on an entertainment website 9 months ago, and along with Macron, other world leaders are dressed in pink pajamas.
On June 18, 2023, a user of the entertainment website Reddit posted AI-edited photos of world leaders, all of them, including Emmanuel Macron, wearing pink pajamas (archive). Photos were generated using the Midjourney software. The official MidJourney channel also shared the photos on Reddit, placing the post in the “jokes/mimes” category.
When observing the circulated photo of Emmanuel Macron, it becomes noticeable that it is generated by artificial intelligence. For example, the French president has unnaturally long fingers on his right hand, and the wrist of his left hand also looks unnatural. Also, the print will not stand out well in several places on the pajama.
It should be noted that the number of posts discrediting Emmanuel Macron’s have increased after he did not rule out sending French troops to Ukraine if necessary.
False information and visual manipulations regarding Emmanuel Macron were spread in the past as well. For more information, see the articles prepared by “Myth Detector:”
- AN ALTERED VIDEO DEPICTING FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
- PHOTOMANIPULATION, AS IF THE FRENCH PRESIDENT RAN AWAY FROM THE FARMERS
- WHAT IS MACRON ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT AND ARE GERMANY AND POLAND DEPENDENT ON RUSSIAN GAS?
About the Sources
Facebook user Sandro Lobzhanidze has disseminated false information before. In the past, Lobzhanidze published disinformation and manipulative posts, including those related to the Ukrainian Church.
The user “Shiin Evropisken” [Home to Europe] distributes information of homophobic and anti-Western content in a coordinated manner, including disinformation and fake photo-video content.
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