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Still can't believe folks fell for that AI church photo from last month | Fake News Detective - SMM Buzz

Still can't believe folks fell for that AI church photo from last month

I saw that image of the pastor with six fingers on one hand going around Facebook... and people were sharing it like it was a real revival. My own cousin posted it saying "look at the spirit moving." I had to message her and point out the guy had a thumb growing out of his palm. She got mad at me for being negative. It still makes me wonder how many other obvious fakes are floating around that nobody bothers to check. Have you guys had any luck gently correcting family members who share this stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley_schmidt4mo ago

Did you catch that piece in the Atlantic about how a bunch of those fake AI images actually come from the same few spam farms overseas? I remember reading it and thinking, no wonder my aunt keeps falling for this stuff when there's like ten new fake pastor photos hitting her feed every day. She shared one of those with the weird halo glow and I just sent her the link to that article without saying a word. She didn't reply but I noticed she stopped sharing AI church pics after that, so maybe it worked. I think the trick is showing people the source instead of just telling them they're wrong. They get defensive if you call them out directly but handing them proof feels different.

fox.derek4mo ago

Yeah I hear you. I had to do the same thing with my uncle last month. He shared some blurry video of a "giant snake" in a lake and I told him it was just a log floating weird. He went quiet for a few days after that. It's tough because you don't want to start a fight but you also don't want them looking foolish. My rule now is I only say something once and if they get defensive I just drop it. Not worth the headache. But I agree it's wild how fast this stuff spreads without anyone questioning it for two seconds.

thompson.nathan3mo ago

Man I spent 20 minutes once trying to explain to my dad that an AI image of a deer with antlers growing in a spiral pattern wasn't real. He kept saying "well it looks real enough to me" and I just gave up after a while. @riley_schmidt you nailed it with the source thing though I think that's the only way to get through to people. I'm still amazed how many obvious fakes slip past everyone. At this point I just assume half the stuff on my timeline is generated by some bot farm and I've probably shared a fake myself without knowing it.