No Proof Found to Back Trump’s Allegation of Doctored Image from Harris Rally

Several VERIFY readers have questioned the authenticity of an image from Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz’s rally near Detroit, following claims by former President Donald Trump that it was manipulated using artificial intelligence.

Trump, known for asserting that his rallies attract larger crowds than those of his opponents, made this claim at an Aug. 8 press conference, stating, “Nobody’s spoken to crowds bigger than me.”

On Aug. 10, Trump alleged on Truth Social that the Harris campaign had used AI to fabricate a photo showing a substantial crowd at the rally, accusing her of deceit. Conservative commentator Chuck Callesto amplified this claim in a viral X post, which garnered over 14 million views, suggesting the use of a fake crowd photo.

Additional speculation about the photo’s legitimacy arose from claims that the absence of a reflection of the crowd on the plane’s surface and the supposed lack of a tail number indicated manipulation. VERIFY readers subsequently sought clarification on the photo’s authenticity.

THE QUESTION

Is the image from Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s rally fake?

THE ANSWER

No, there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that the image from Harris’ rally is fake. Multiple real images from the event confirm a large audience was present.

WHAT WE FOUND

An analysis conducted by VERIFY revealed no signs of manipulation in the viral image. The comparison of this image with others from reputable news sources, such as the Associated Press and local news outlets, showed consistent large crowd sizes and similar visuals from the rally held at a hangar near Detroit Metro Airport.

To further investigate, VERIFY used the photo forensics tool RevEye to trace the origin of the contested photo, finding that it was originally posted by Bhavik Lathia, the Harris-Walz campaign mobilization director. Lathia’s tweet expressed amazement at the turnout depicted in the photo.

The Detroit Free Press also livestreamed the event, showing similar scenes. Moreover, ABC News Reporter Isabella Murray posted images corroborating the large crowd size, consistent with photos shared across various news platforms.

Michigan Senator Mallory McMorrow, who attended the rally, disputed Trump’s claims by sharing her own photos and videos from the hangar, reaffirming the presence of a substantial crowd.

VERIFY also performed an independent analysis to detect any signs of AI-related artifacts, which are characteristic distortions in AI-generated images. The photo in question showed no such indicators.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.