Fact check: Were you fooled by these AI-generated images of the World Cup?
The contents of a digitally manipulated image of an Iranian player posted on social platform X did not actually happen, yet is was shared and amplified to thousands of World Cup fans.
EURONEWS
The World Cup kicked off the second week of June with a wave of AI-generated misinformation — ranging from fake fans in the stands, fabricated political appearances and false quotes attributed to players.
One viral image, which garnered more than 3 million views in one post on X, showed a football supporter resembling Adolf Hitler, who allegedly attended the Germany-Curaçao game on June 14.
The image spread across Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Reddit, accompanied by posts in English, Spanish and Russian, some gaining thousands of views.
But in fact, it was digitally manipulated: a review of the original footage published by German broadcaster ARD shows that the real fan looked nothing like the one in the photo.
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