Trump administration uses AI-generated deepfakes for political communication
President Trump's administration has posted AI-generated deepfake images and videos on Truth Social since November 2025, depicting the president in idealized scenarios while attacking opponents. The fabricated content has deceived social media users and reportedly been used as a core communication strategy to control public discourse.
What happened
President Donald Trump has posted AI-generated fake images and videos on Truth Social since starting his second White House term, depicting himself as a king, Superman, fighter pilot, pope, and conducting an orchestra, while portraying opponents as criminals and laughingstocks.
In October 2025, Trump posted a fake video showing himself wearing a crown and flying a fighter jet labeled 'King Trump' dumping excrement on crowds of protesters, posted the same day as nationwide 'No Kings' protests. In another post, the White House depicted Trump as Superman with the caption 'THE SYMBOL OF HOPE. SUPERMAN TRUMP.'
In September 2025, Trump posted an apparent AI-generated video styled as a Fox News segment showing himself promising Americans access to 'MedBed' hospitals, a debunked conspiracy theory associated with far-right circles claiming to cure any ailment. The clip was later deleted without explanation.
Reported impact
The fabricated imagery has deceived social media users, some of whom questioned in comments whether the images were authentic.
Free Press senior counsel Nora Benavidez stated: 'Trump peddles disinformation on and offline to boost his own image, attack his adversaries and control public discourse. For someone like him, unregulated generative AI is the perfect tool to capture people's attention and distort reality.'
Index analysis
Trump's administration deployed hyper-realistic fake visuals as a core communications strategy, making it the first U.S. administration to do so according to the reports. The AI-generated content was used particularly during moments of national outrage to glorify Trump and attack critics.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.