In March, as the world waited for the historic arrest and indictment of former US president Donald Trump, AI already predicted what it would look like. These images went viral, with people believing that the businessman was actually chased by the police before being arrested.
On X, a user posted four pictures of Musk getting cosy with a robot. This triggered rumours that Musk has announced a robot wife. However, the pictures were posted to spread awareness about AI-generated images.
David Miller (South Africa)*
During the French riots, this picture of Emmanuel Macron sitting and smiling in the street as a fire burns behind him went viral.
In June, Ron DeSantis, a US Presidential hopeful and Donald Trump’s Republican contender, posted a video which had pictures of the ex-president kissing former US chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci.
In August, purported photos of Paris overwhelmed by huge stinking piles of trash went viral. They were believable because garbage disposal workers had indeed gone on strike.
In May, an image that showed smoke rising from Pentagon grounds went viral. At the time, the pictures triggered panic and confusion, even causing ripples in the stock market.
A photo of Pope Francis wearing a puffer Balenciaga jacket was viewed millions of time.