This photo shows how much artificial intelligence is now capable of influencing public opinion and sending political messages.
A supposed recording of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (51) has been circulating on the Internet for two days. It shows the activist imprisoned in the UK with a swollen face and closed eyes. He’s sitting in a tiled room, looking exhausted, wearing a kind of bib stained with leftover food.
Reactions to the photo were quick and fierce. Many users expressed their dismay that Assange was being held “under such conditions”, including journalists and politicians. Individual tweets were viewed by over three million users.
Conspicuous: The photo bears a watermark with the note “Photo Property of E”, which refers to the author. This is a person who goes by the internet “The Errant Friend” or “E” and had a similar photo of Assange created by AI two weeks ago. The account has also already posted artificially generated recordings of former US President Donald Trump (76). “The Errant Friend” has not yet responded to a BILD request.
Only a few users point out the possibility of AI and abnormalities in the photo. Tools that are able to identify AI in images give clear indications of a fake.
The largest French TV channel TF1 now also reports on the image and concludes that it was produced by AI. Julian Assange’s wife Stella agrees.
Assange is currently being held in Belmarsh Prison in London. He is to be extradited to the US, where he is charged with espionage and publishing hundreds of thousands of classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange is seen by his supporters as a hero who enlightened the public about war crimes. Critics accuse him of ruthlessly endangering the lives of countless people by disclosing stolen information. His proximity to Russia has also been criticized: in 2016, Assange distributed material about the US Democrats and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which probably came from the Russian secret service.
If convicted, Assange faces 175 years in prison.