FACT CHECK: Viral Image Of Claudia Sheinbaum Wearing ‘Make America Mexicana Again’ Hat Is AI-Generated
A viral image shared on X purports to show Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wearing a “Make America Mexicana Again” hat.
This is hysterical.
The President of Mexico was spotted wearing a “Make America Mexicana Again.”
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) January 17, 2025
Verdict: False
The image, which was originally shared on X on Jan. 8, was created with Grok, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) program that has been integrated with X. An AI expert denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Trump has agreed to pause proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days in response to concerns over the border and drug trafficking, according to The Associated Press. The move followed what Trump described as a “very friendly conversation” with Sheinbaum, the outlet reported.
The X image, which has amassed over one million views as of writing, purports to show Sheinbaum wearing a “Make America Mexicana Again” hat.
“This is hysterical. The President of Mexico was spotted wearing a ‘Make America Mexicana Again’ [hat],” the image’s caption reads. In the image, a woman resembling Sheinbaum can be seen wearing a red “Make America Mexicana Again” hat. The hat is obviously modeled after President Donald Trump’s signature red “Make America Great Again” hat.
The claim is false, as the image is AI-generated. The original image, which was shared on X on Jan. 8, bears a faint “Grok” label in its bottom right corner. Grok is a generative AI program that has been integrated with X.
Likewise, Check Your Fact conducted a content detection scan using the website, “Hive Moderation,” and the results indicate the image is only 2.2% likely to have been generated with AI. However, it is important to point out that AI content detectors can be tricked by adding grain, or texture to an image, making it less likely that the detector will correctly identify the image as AI, according to Business Insider.
Screenshot captured via Hive Moderation
In addition, Sheinbaum does not appear to have shared the purported image to her verified social media accounts. Check Your Fact also found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Feb. 4, Lead Stories debunked the claim and reported the image had been generated using Grok. (RELATED: No, Image Doesn’t Show Man With ‘Latinos For Trump’ Shirt Arrested By ICE)
Furthermore, Dr. Walter Scheirer, an 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. There is an odd artifact that can be observed in the reflection of the sun glasses: two eyes are visible. The algorithm appears to be attempting to render Sheinbaum’s eyes in the right location, but has put them on top of the sunglasses and blended them so that they look like they’re in the reflection. Further, the teeth in this image do not match Sheinbaum’s teeth in authentic images — there are visible gaps in this image that don’t appear in published images,” Scheirer said.
