FACT CHECK: Image Purporting To Show Biden-Trump Meeting Is AI-Generated

A viral image shared on X purports to show President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump meeting in the Oval Office.

President Biden will be meeting President-Elect Trump in the Oval Office this Wednesday.

What do you think they’ll talk about? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ALQc9obLVS

— David Leavitt 🎲🎮🧙‍♂️🌈 (@David_Leavitt) November 9, 2024

Verdict: False

A content detection scan using the website “Hive Moderation” reveals the image is 99% likely to have been generated with artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, a media forensics and AI expert denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

Trump said he and Biden “both really enjoyed seeing each other” when discussing their meeting with the New York Post. Trump also revealed that he and Biden discussed the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas Wars during their meeting, the outlet reported.

The X image, viewed over 30,000 times as of writing, purports to show Biden and Trump meeting in the Oval Office.

“President Biden will be meeting President-Elect Trump in the Oval Office this Wednesday. What do you think they’ll talk about?” the image’s caption reads. In the image, Trump appears to be seated on the left while Biden is seated on the right. Both men are dressed in blue suits and ties and appear to be laughing.

The claim is false. A content detection scan using the website “Hive Moderation” reveals the image is 99% likely to have been AI-generated. Biden is missing a thumb on one of his hands, and a few of his fingers look deformed, which is a key indication that the image is fake. AI generators typically have difficulty creating fingers, which results in missing, extra, or deformed fingers, according to Buzzfeed News.

Likewise, a video showing Biden and Trump’s meeting in the Oval Office shows both presidents wearing different outfits than those of the viral X image. At the video’s 1:37-minute mark, Trump can be seen wearing a blue suit and red tie, while Biden is wearing a blue or dark gray pinstripe suit with a wine-colored tie.

In addition, the viral X image is not featured in any credible news reports about Biden and Trump’s meeting. Actually, the opposite is true. On Nov. 13, Snopes debunked the claim and reported that the image was AI-generated.

Furthermore, neither Biden nor Trump have publicly commented on the AI-generated image. (RELATED: No, Harris Campaign Did Not Say Trump’s Election Could Be Overturned Via Recount)

Finally, Dr. Walter Scheirer, a media forensics and AI expert at the University of Notre Dame, denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.

“This image is likely the product of a generative AI algorithm. The hands of both figures in the image are badly rendered and look highly unnatural. Trump’s ring and watch are very poorly rendered, to the point that they look more like abstract blobs than jewelry. Further, the flag behind Biden looks more like an abstract tapestry than an official flag bearing the US Presidential Seal,” Scheirer said.