By Edward Helmore
Publication Date: 2026-04-06 14:03:00
Republican politicians were fooled over the weekend by an image purporting to show a downed crew member of a U.S. fighter jet rescued by military special forces in Iran on Saturday, sparking calls for a nationwide “crash course in media literacy.”
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, Ken Paxton, the attorney general and candidate for U.S. Senate, and Mike Lawler, a New York congressman, were all caught for “liking” a fake image of the pilot, who was not publicly identified.
Donald Trump was scheduled to hold a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss details of the rescue mission.
The AI-generated image that fooled Republican politicians was shared by a pro-Trump X account. The alleged airman can be seen surrounded by smiling military personnel, with a US flag hanging on his lap.
The fake image was reshared more than 21,000 times on the X platform and now carries the warning: “This photo was likely created by an AI.”
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