U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to supporters at a campaign rally in Romulus, Michigan, the United States, on August 7, 2024.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump on Sunday falsely accused his November election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, of using artificial intelligence to fake images of crowd sizes at rallies, amplifying a baseless conspiracy to explain There is strong enthusiasm for the NDP vote.
“Did anyone notice that Kamala was tricked at the airport? There was no one on the plane and she ‘AI’d it and showed a large ‘crowd’ of so-called followers but they didn’t exist!” the Republican president said the candidate wrote on Truth Social.
Trump was referring to photos of a large crowd gathered on a tarmac in Michigan on Aug. 7, cheering on Harris as she stepped out of Air Force Two. His comments parroted false conspiracies spread online by “MAGA” Republican commentators, some of whom have previously been caught spreading misinformation.
The Harris campaign responded that it was “an actual photo of Harris waltzing in front of 15,000 people in Michigan.” CNBC also authorized Getty Images to take photos for the report, which match the photos that have been circulated.
People cheer and hold signs during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz on August 7, 2024 in Romulus, Michigan.
Katie McTiernan | Anadolu | Getty Images
The Harris campaign also took the opportunity to point out the contrast between Harris’ campaign schedule over the past week and Trump: “Trump still hasn’t campaigned in swing states for more than a week…low energy?”
Trump’s false accusations come in the middle of an election, when huge advances in artificial intelligence tools have streamlined the spread of misinformation. This makes it harder than ever for voters to discern reality from online conspiracy.
Trump’s peddling of false conspiracies was just one of several social media tirade he launched against Harris this weekend.
On Saturday, he accused Harris of plagiarizing her proposal to eliminate the tip tax, which she announced at a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday. Trump made the same promise at his own Las Vegas rally in June.
“[Harris] Anyway, she has no imagination and as the fact that she plays ‘imitation’ shows, tips are not taxed! ” Trump wrote in a “Truth Society” post on Saturday night.
Trump’s outrage on social media reflected the Republican presidential campaign’s struggle to find its footing after Harris’ entry upended the race.
Donations to Democrats have reached record levels in the three weeks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris. Harris’ rallies also regularly draw thousands of people.
Last week, the Harris campaign launched a tour of seven battleground states across the country as part of a coordinated rollout by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ vice presidential running mate.
The pace of the campaign is much faster than what voters saw when Biden was at the helm.
This also puts Harris’s continuous rallies in sharp contrast with Trump’s relaxed schedule this month.
Trump has held two rallies and several fundraisers so far in August.
He recently said he has no plans to increase his campaign schedule until after the Democratic National Convention, which will be held from August 19 to August 22.
