AI-generated fake images of Manolo García concert incident cause public alarm
During a concert in Barcelona, musician Manolo García performed crowd surfing and was not caught by the audience, falling to the ground in an incident that went viral. AI-generated fake images of the incident were subsequently created and shared on digital platforms, reportedly causing public concern about his health and prompting him to issue a statement criticizing the manipulation of his image without consent.
What happened
On 9 May 2026, Manolo García, singer of El Último de la Fila, performed crowd surfing at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona. The audience failed to catch him, and he fell to the ground.
The incident went viral on social media. Following this, artificial intelligence was used to generate fake images of the incident that simulated situations that did not occur in reality.
Reported impact
The AI-generated fake images caused concern among García's followers about his health. García stated that his image was used without consent to create "irreales y alarmantes" (unreal and alarming) situations.
García described the actions as "triste y sumamente penoso" (sad and deeply regrettable) and stated that digital platforms were "ganarse la vida de esta manera tan burda" (making a living in such a crude way) at the cost of causing harm and worry to many people.
Index analysis
García said "El uso de la inteligencia artificial ha empezado a tomar desde hace tiempo un sesgo preocupante" (The use of artificial intelligence has taken on a concerning bias for some time).
Governance controls
García stated that he considered such actions "punibles" (punishable) and that "las autoridades pertinentes deberían poner coto inmediato a este tipo de desmanes" (the relevant authorities should immediately put an end to this type of outrage).
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.