An AI expert on those photos of Kamala Harris’s crowd
📹 Missed Medium Day? Here’s our CEO’s keynote. Browse every session recording at mediumday.com. You can still register to view the archives, even if you didn’t attend live.
Issue #148: history from the inside and judging true friendship
By Harris Sockel
We knew this would happen eventually: Some people are asking themselves whether a campaign photo was AI-generated.
On August 7, Kamala Harris landed in Detroit to speak at the airport. A campaign staffer posted this image on X:
Donald Trump claims the photo is AI-generated, though multiple sources including Reuters and the BBC investigated its provenance and believe it’s an accurate representation of reality. There was, indeed, a large crowd present at the Detroit airport on August 7.
“I’m honored that whoever made the AI image of 15,000 excited Democrats welcoming Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to Detroit was kind enough to include me at the lectern 😂” countered Michigan Democratic Party chair Lavora Barnes on X. “That AI crowd was really loud, my ears just stopped ringing from their imaginary cheering.”
It’s a little more nuanced, though. Jim the AI Whisperer emailed us* to let us know he may have discovered something even the BBC didn’t catch: the original image (sent to the BBC from the Harris campaign) differs from what was posted on X, and later by Trump on Truth Social.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison. Original on the left, viral X post on the right:
“It’s easy to see why some immediately thought the [image on the right] was ersatz. The highlights on the arms cast a weird contour on everybody that is reminiscent of AI-generated art,” Jim explains. Yes, the crowd was real, but it’s impossible to rule out the possibility that someone used AI to enhance the image (specifically its contrast and resolution) before posting it. Again, the image wasn’t created by AI, but it may have been upscaled by AI, which can make things look just as uncanny to our naked eye.
AI expert Thomas Smith (also a professional photographer) reminds us that photojournalism has always been vulnerable to manipulation. That’s why professional photo agencies are so selective about who can submit to them: It’s a business built on trust. Just like all information, the only way to ensure veracity of a photo is to vet its source: Who took it, who posted it, and why?
*Anyone can email tips@medium.com with stories worth featuring in this newsletter! Send us stories touching on current or important topics in broadly relevant, accessible ways.
What else we’re reading
- 15-year book club member Bethany F. Brengan explains why being part of a group of avid readers makes you a better writer: It tunes you in to how people react to stories they both love and hate, which helps you predict how humans will react to your own work. Joining a book club is like doing recon for your future readership.
- The last time Chicago hosted a Democratic presidential convention was ’96, when Bill Clinton ran against Bob Dole. Before that was the notorious convention of ’68, when around 10,000 “Yippies” protested the Vietnam War and clashed with police across the city. James Parker, an aide to Chicago’s Mayor Daley at the time, was asked by the mayor to keep an eye on the protesters. He did; but he also ended up sympathizing with many of them — like Abbie Hoffman, leader of the protests, whom he shuttled around on his bike.
- ICYMI, Michelle and Barack Obama posted transcripts of their DNC speeches on Medium. There are 73 days until the election. Six percent of voters in six states will likely decide the outcome.
Your daily dose of practical wisdom: on friendship
Quiz: Zoom In
Below is a highly zoomed-in version of an image related to one of the stories linked above. If you know what it is, email us: tips@medium.com. First to guess correctly wins a free Medium membership.
Yesterday’s winner: Imad Adrees for spotting the zoomed-in bracelet from Carmellita’s post about old-school blogs. Congrats, Imad!
Learn something new every day with the Medium Newsletter. Sign up here.
Edited and produced by Carly Rose Gillis
Questions, thoughts, feedback, grievances, hopes, dreams? Email us: tips@medium.com
