Anika Begay
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Romulus, Michigan, U.S., August 7, 2024.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump on Sunday falsely accused his November presidential opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, of using artificial intelligence technology to fabricate crowd size images at her rallies, amplifying a baseless conspiracy to explain the surge in enthusiasm for the new Democratic ticket.
“Did anyone notice that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was no one on the plane, and she ‘AI’d’ and showed off a huge ‘crowd’ of so called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” the Republican presidential candidate wrote on Truth Social.
Trump was referring to an image of a large crowd gathered on the tarmac in Michigan on August 7, cheering Harris as she exited Air Force Two. His comments parroted a false conspiracy being spread online by Republican MAGA commentators, some of whom have previously been caught promoting misinformation.
The Harris campaign responded that it was “an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan.” Vscek also licensed a photo from Getty Images for the story that matches the photos in circulation.
People cheer and hold signs during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, in Romulus, Michigan, on August 7, 2024.
Katie McTiernan | Anadolu | Getty Images
The Harris campaign also took the opportunity to highlight the contrast between Harris’s campaign schedule last week and Trump’s: “Trump hasn’t even campaigned in a swing state in over a week… Low energy?”
Trump’s false accusation comes amid an election in which enormous advances in artificial intelligence tools have streamlined the process of spreading misinformation, making it harder than ever for voters to distinguish reality from internet conspiracy.
Trump’s propaganda of this false conspiracy was just one of many rants he launched on social media against Harris this weekend.
On Saturday, he accused Harris of copying his proposal to eliminate tip taxes, which she announced at her Las Vegas rally on Saturday. Trump made the same promise at his Las Vegas rally in June.
″[Harris] He has no imagination whatsoever, as evidenced by his game of “COPYCAT” with “NO TIP TAX!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night.
Trump’s outrage on social media reflects a Republican presidential campaign struggling to find its footing after Harris’s entrance upended the race.
In the three weeks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, donations to Democrats have reached record levels. Harris’s rallies have also regularly drawn thousands of attendees.
Last week, Harris’s campaign launched a tour of seven key states across the country, as part of a coordinated launch for Harris’s vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
This pace of campaigning is noticeably faster than what voters saw when Biden was leading the charge.
There’s also a stark contrast between Harris’s back-to-back rallies and Trump’s lighter schedule this month.
Trump has held two rallies and several fundraisers so far in August.
He recently said he does not plan to ramp up his campaign travel ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which runs from Aug. 19 to 22.
