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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 11, 2024 in a post on Truth Social: Photo of Kamala Harris’ Aug. 7 rally near Detroit was AI-generated and “there was nobody there.” Attendees pictured “didn’t exist.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * Elections * Artificial intelligence * Donald Trump ![\\"Democratic](\\" Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP) ![\\"Madison](\\" By Madison Czopek August 12, 2024 # Donald Trump is wrong. These images of Kamala Harris’ Aug. 7 Detroit rally are corroborated, not AI. #### If Your Time is short * Local news reports and dozens of photos and videos from local and national media outlets documented an Aug. 7 Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign rally at Michigan’s Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The photos and reports show that thousands of rallygoers attended the event. * An expert on detecting manipulated images analyzed the photo and found no evidence it was generated by artificial intelligence or manipulated. See the sources for this fact-check Former President Donald Trump is keen to boast about his crowd sizes and attack his political rivals over theirs. But his Aug. 11 claim that 2024 opponent Vice President Kamala Harris used artificial intelligence to paint a picture of a nonexistent crowd at one of her events upped the ante on election year attacks. \"Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport?\" Trump wrote in an Aug. 11 Truth Social post. \"There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!\" Responding to a social media post he reshared that included a picture showing Harris’ plane surrounded by a large crowd of people — some with Harris-Walz campaign signs — Trump wrote that it amounted to a \"fake crowd picture.\" \"She had NOBODY waiting, and the ‘crowd’ looked like 10,000 people!\" he wrote. One minute later, Trump posted again: \"Look, we caught her with a fake ‘crowd.’ There was nobody there!\" Trump’s claim is baseless. Thousands of people attended the Aug. 7 Harris campaign event in Romulus, Michigan, a southwest suburb of Detroit. Dozens of photos and videos of the event — including from journalists at Getty Images and The Associated Press — show that Harris-Walz supporters gathered at Michigan’s Detroit Metropolitan Airport for the rally. ![](\\" Air Force Two with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz aboard arrives Aug. 7, 2024, for a campaign rally in Romulus, Michigan. (AP) The Detroit News reported that Harris and allies \"rallied thousands of supporters\" Aug. 7 who were \"packed inside and outside an airplane hangar.\" The Detroit Free Press reported that \"several thousand supporters\" lined up hours in advance to get inside the airport for the event. Similarly, WDIV, a local TV channel, reported that \"thousands of people were there.\" > For those inquiring about Kamala Harris’ Michigan rally crowd size — here is > the view of both inside and outside the hangar at DTW before, during and > after the rally. 🎥: Kayman Whaley, TDN.Stay with us at > for live, accurate updates. > pic.twitter.com/6K48qjKtfo > > — The Detroit News (@detroitnews) August 8, 2024 We contacted the Trump campaign for comment and received no response. A Harris campaign spokesperson told PolitiFact that a campaign staff member took the crowd photo that Trump reshared and it was not generated or modified by AI. \"This is an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan,\" the Harris campaign wrote in an Aug. 11 X post, sharing the contested photo. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information and an expert on digital forensics and image analysis, said he has \"no doubt that the photo is real.\" Farid said he analyzed the photo using two different computer models trained to detect patterns associated with generative AI images. Neither detected evidence of AI-generation or manipulation. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 14, 2024 in a post Photo from an Aug. 14 campaign event in Michigan shows “JD Vance couldn’t fill a small room.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • August 15, 2024 \"The haloing effect around many of the heads/bodies is, I believe, due to the unusual lighting in the hangar,\" Farid said in an email. Also, he said, \"many other\" videos and photos of the rally show \"the same basic scene.\" ![](\\" Supporters listen Aug. 7, 2024, as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Romulus, Michigan. (AP) \"Comparing several versions of this photo, I think the only alteration was some simple brightness/contrast and perhaps sharpening,\" Farid said. Lavora Barnes, Michigan’s Democratic Party chair, shared a photo on X of herself addressing the Aug. 7 crowd and joked about Trump’s AI-generated crowd claim. \"I’m honored that whoever made the AI image of 15,000 excited Democrats welcoming @kamalaharris and @tim_walz to Detroit was kind enough to include me at the lectern,\" she wrote Aug. 11 on X. \"That AI crowd was really loud, my ears just stopped ringing from their imaginary cheering.\" ![](\\" Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrive for a campaign rally, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Michigan. (AP) How did the AI-generated photo narrative spread? On Truth Social, Trump shared a screenshot of conservative commentator Chuck Callesto’s Aug. 10 X post. Callesto — whose Instagram profile picture is a 2022 image of himself and Trump — posted his false claim that the Harris campaign was using a \"FAKE crowd photo\" at 2:47 p.m. ET. His post had been viewed more than 14.4 million times as of the evening of Aug. 12. ![](\\" gen_cro_RQmebQO.png\\"/) (Screenshot from Truth Social) Callesto was not the first person to use photos to sow doubt about the crowd size at Harris’ Michigan rally. Blog sites linked to Italy and India shared posts Aug. 8 and Aug. 9 that questioned the rally photos’ authenticity. Paid X subscribers also shared close-up photos of Air Force Two at the rally as early as 12:46 p.m. ET on Aug. 10, claiming that the reflections on the plane proved there was no crowd. Jake Shields, a mixed martial arts fighter with 735,000 followers on X, promoted this theory. \"Harris is using AI to fake crowd size,\" he posted at 4:46 p.m. Aug. 10. Just after 6 p.m., conservative commentator and Trump supporter Dinesh D’Souza amplified the claim. Our ruling Trump said a photo of Harris’ Aug. 7 rally near Detroit was AI-generated, that \"there was nobody there\" and the attendees pictured \"didn’t exist.\" Local news organizations reported that thousands of people attended the rally, and photos and videos show the same scene at the airplane hangar. An expert on detecting manipulated images analyzed the photo and found no evidence it was AI-generated or manipulated. We rate the claim Pants on Fire! PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. **RELATED:** Trump’s False crowd comparison with his Jan. 6 speech and the crowd at MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Donald Trump’s Truth Social post, Aug. 11, 2024 Donald Trump’s Truth Social post, Aug. 11, 2024 Email interview with Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information, Aug. 12, 2024 Emailed statement a Harris campaign spokesperson, Aug. 12, 2024 Hany Farid’s LinkedIn post, Aug. 10, 2024 Lavora Barnes’ X post, Aug. 11, 2024 Kamala HQ’s X post, Aug. 11, 2024 Fox News, Trump claims \'nobody\' cheered Harris outside Air Force Two despite video, images of crowds, Aug. 12, 2024 CNN, Trump spreads false conspiracy theory about Harris’ Detroit crowd size, Aug. 11, 2024 PolitiFact, Donald Trump swipe at Beto O\'Rourke\'s crowd size is wrong, Feb. 12, 2019 The Detroit News’ X post, Aug. 7, 2024 Nnamdi Egwuonwu’s X post, Aug. 7, 2024 Nora Eckert’s X post, Aug. 7, 2024 Jordyn Hermani’s X post, Aug. 7, 2024 MLive, Kamala Harris rally at Detroit airport to include Whitmer, top Michigan Democrats, Aug. 7, 2024 Getty Images, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz presidential campaign rally in Michigan, Aug. 7, 2024 Getty Images, Kamala Harris Tim Walz US Presidential Campaign Rally in Michigan, Aug. 7, 2024 Associated Press Newsroom, Election 2024 Harris, Aug. 7, 2024 The Detroit News, Presidential campaigns zero in on Michigan with new intensity, Aug. 7, 2024 The Detroit News, Harris, Walz bring historic campaign to Michigan, rallying at Detroit Metro Airport, Aug. 7, 2024 WDIV Click on Detroit, Trump falsely claims Harris campaign ‘faked’ Detroit rally photos, Aug. 12, 2024 Chuck Callesto’s X post, Aug. 10, 2024 Chuck Callesto’s X post, Nov. 15, 2023 Caclubindia.com, Fake AI Crowd at Kamala Harris Rally (5 Proofs), Aug. 10, 2024 Decripto.org, US election, supporters of Kamala Harris added with artificial intelligence, Aug. 8, 2024 Jake Shields X post, Aug. 10, 2024 Dinesh D’Souza X post, Aug. 10, 2024 CNN, Donald Trump is (still) totally obsessed with crowd size, Oct. 27, 2020 PolitiFact, Donald Trump had biggest inaugural crowd ever? Metrics don\'t show it, Jan. 22, 2017 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Madison Czopek slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 21, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “The state of Washington has already sent out their ballots” for the 2024 presidential election. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 14, 2024 in an Instagram post: A Secret Service agent named Jonathan Willis said he “had the assassin in his sights for 3 minutes, but he was told not to engage by the head of the (Secret Service) unit.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on July 9, 2024 in a speech in Washington D.C.: In 2020, “only nine NATO allies were spending 2%” of their GDP on defense. “This year, 23 will spend at least 2%.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • July 12, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 3, 2024 in a video posted on X: On June 7, 2011, Kamala Harris was involved in a San Francisco hit-and-run crash that injured a woman named Alicia Brown. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 29, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “BREAKING: Illegal Aliens in San Diego, California, tried to hijack 2 school buses filled with children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “There’s no such thing as menopause.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 24, 2024 in an Instagram post: World Economic Forum “document confirms 6 billion humans will die in 2025.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bob Casey stated on August 22, 2024 in a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention: “Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive them up.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 16, 2024 in a post on X: “Kamala Harris wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 22, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 4, 2024 in an Instagram post: “The NFL will now use facial recognition at every stadium to verify the identity of everyone at the game.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 12, 2024 in a post on Facebook: Dr. Leo Ferreira, a cancer researcher shown in a video clip, was on the plane that crashed in Brazil on Aug. 9. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jesse Watters stated on August 6, 2024 in a segment on \"Jesse Watters Primetime\": Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “forced schools to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 13, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 11, 2024 in a post on Truth Social: Photo of Kamala Harris’ Aug. 7 rally near Detroit was AI-generated and “there was nobody there.” Attendees pictured “didn’t exist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 27, 2024 in a post on X: Video shows that “JD Vance endorses Project 2025.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 22, 2024 in a post on X: The death of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, six days after the Trump rally shooting was linked to her “oversight of the Secret Service.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 24, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 21, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “The state of Washington has already sent out their ballots” for the 2024 presidential election. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 14, 2024 in an Instagram post: A Secret Service agent named Jonathan Willis said he “had the assassin in his sights for 3 minutes, but he was told not to engage by the head of the (Secret Service) unit.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on July 9, 2024 in a speech in Washington D.C.: In 2020, “only nine NATO allies were spending 2%” of their GDP on defense. “This year, 23 will spend at least 2%.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • July 12, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 3, 2024 in a video posted on X: On June 7, 2011, Kamala Harris was involved in a San Francisco hit-and-run crash that injured a woman named Alicia Brown. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 29, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “BREAKING: Illegal Aliens in San Diego, California, tried to hijack 2 school buses filled with children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “There’s no such thing as menopause.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 30, 2024 ### Donald Trump is wrong. These images of Kamala Harris’ Aug. 7 Detroit rally are corroborated, not AI. * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: Video shows Tim Walz “falsely claims that being gay in Nebraska is ‘illegal’\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 10, 2024 in social media posts: Vice President Kamala Harris wore NOVA H1 audio earrings in the Sept. 10, 2024, presidential debate. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 10, 2024 in a debate: “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world, for the first time this century.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 9, 2024 in an X post: \"Dallas County Texas (tells) election workers to (illegally) lie on registration & use a church address to register homeless people to vote!” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 7, 2024 in a post: CNN reported that the Apalachee High School shooting suspect was motivated by a “lack of trans acceptance.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 2, 2024 in an Instagram post: Image shows “Michelle Obama’s necklace from DNC speech” said “Mike.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 10, 2024 in at a Sept. 10 presidential debate: \"In Springfield (Ohio), they\'re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they\'re eating the cats. They\'re eating, they\'re eating the pets of the people that live there.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 6, 2024 in in social media posts: Haitian immigrants are eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, Ohio. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 9, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 2, 2024 in social media posts: The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is on the way to Aurora, Colorado, to confront a Venezuelan gang. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Loreben Tuquero • September 9, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 20, 2024 in remarks at a fundraiser in Provincetown, Mass.: Donald Trump “took away protections against discrimination for LGBTQ patients under the Affordable Care Act.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Grace Abels • September 9, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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Photo of Kamala Harris’ Aug 7 rally near Detroit was AIgenerated and there was nobody there Attendees pictured didn’t exist