Trump’s AI Allegations Against Kamala Harris’s Rally Debunked

Donald Trump alleges Kamala Harris’s Michigan rally crowds were AI-fabricated, but reports and media coverage show otherwise.

Former President Donald Trump has made a series of claims on social media. He alleged that a crowd at a Michigan rally for Vice President Kamala Harris was fabricated using artificial intelligence (AI) and that the VP was an imitator who lacked innovative ideas and instead chose to replicate his proposals.

On August 11, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, accusing Harris and her campaign of using AI to create a false impression of large crowds at the event.

Donald Trump’s post on Truth | Source: Truth

“There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” Trump wrote.

Trump’s Claims Fact-Checked

According to reports, though, the rally, held at an airport hangar in Detroit, was attended by thousands of people. Local news outlet MLive estimated that around 15,000 people were present, with some attendees spilling onto the tarmac.

Major media outlets, including PBS NewsHour, also live-streamed the event. Therefore, there was no evidence that any of the photos from the rally were altered, tampered with, or generated with artificial intelligence.

In addition to his claims about the crowd size, Trump accused Harris of imitating his policy ideas. The Republican nominee described her as a “copycat,” alleging that Harris had adopted his proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, which she announced during her rally in Las Vegas.

He criticized Harris, saying:

“[Harris] has no creativity at all, as evidenced by her ‘COPYCAT’ move on the ‘NO TAXES ON TIPS’ proposal!”

Trump had initially made this same promise at his own Las Vegas rally back in June.

Harris Campaign Response

David Plouffe, a senior adviser for Kamala Harris’s campaign, expressed concerns about Trump’s remarks, comparing them to the conspiratorial rantings from the deepest recesses of the internet.

These are not conspiratorial rantings from the deepest recesses of the internet. The author could have the nuclear codes and be responsible for decisions that will affect us all for decades. pic.twitter.com/zdmJ2fh7I6

— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) August 11, 2024

Trump and Fake News

Trump has previously estimated crowd sizes at his events that differed from those made by other sources, including the January 6, 2021, rally in Washington, D.C.

At one point, Trump claimed that his audience surpassed that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech despite photographic evidence to the contrary.

Trump says his January 6th crowd was bigger than Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech:

“Nobody has spoken to crowds bigger than me. If you look at Martin Luther King when he did his great speech, and you look at ours […] same number of people, if not we had more.” pic.twitter.com/Wjue2qoSEU

— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 8, 2024

This incident also reflects the ongoing challenges in countering misinformation related to AI deepfakes, especially as it pertains to high-profile figures with significant followings on social media. For instance, recently, Elon Musk reposted a deep fake parody of Kamala Harris, seemingly violating the social media platform’s rules.