Donald Trump's arraignment inspires AI-generated mug shots
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on April 6, 2023 at 18:35
- Updated on April 29, 2024 at 17:24
- 3 min read
- By AFP USA
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"Donald Trumps mugshot looks like he was crying before he turned himself in," an April 4, 2023 tweet said.
On that day, the 76-year-old pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges alleging he made improper payments during his 2016 campaign for the White House. While the former president was temporarily taken into custody, no mugshot has so far been released to the public, and the image is fake, AFP found.
New York law does not require for a mugshot to be taken of the person under custody.
It does prohibit, however, unwarranted invasions of personal privacy, including the release of "booking photographs of an individual, unless public release of such photographs will serve a specific law enforcement purpose and disclosure is not precluded by any state or federal laws."
Mark I. Cohen, partner at Cohen Frankel & Ruggiero LLP, told AFP by email that mug shots in the state of New York "are not generally publicly disseminated," because they could be prejudicial.
He added: "An arrest constitutes no evidence of guilt and is merely evidence that probable cause to believe the person has committed a crime has been found to exist. Defense lawyers are provided the arrest photo in the court paper packet and in discovery."
AFP contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's press office about the release of any photo, but a response was not forthcoming.
The state Division of Criminal Justice Services confirmed to AFP it could not "disclose what, if any, records have been sent to us. We are only permitted to share information about criminal history records if authorized by law or state regulation."
AI-generated
The image in the tweet shows typical AI discrepancies -- including the unreadable signs on what appears to be a ruler behind Trump's head.
AFP found the original image generated by the artificial intelligence tool MidJourney on March 18, through a search on Discord.
Other fake images of Trump also spread on Twitter, here and here -- with some showing brushed and blurred details that indicate they are not real photos.
MAGA merchandise
Shortly after Trump's arrest, his campaign fundraising website, Save America JFC, released an "Official Trump Mugshot" T-shirt, also displaying a manipulated image.
AFP used a reverse image search and found a real White House portrait of the former president, which was then altered to make it appear like a mugshot with the sign: "PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP 45-47 04 04 2023" with the words "NOT GUILTY" written below.
Trump's case is now in the New York state court system, where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is promising an aggressive prosecution.
Trump's next court appearance is set for December 4, with a trial expected sometime early in 2024 when he would likely be campaigning for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.
AFP has previously debunked other claims made about Trump's arrest, here, here and here.
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