FACT CHECK: Image Of Mike Tyson Posing With Palestinian Flag Is AI-Generated
A post shared on Facebook purports to show boxer Mike Tyson posing with a Palestinian flag before a recent fight.
Verdict: False
A content detection scan using the website “TrueMedia.org” reveals the image has 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:
Netflix announced a record 60 million households watched a recent fight between Tyson and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, according to CNN. Tyson, 58, landed 18 punches during the fight, the outlet reported.
The Facebook image purports to show Tyson posing with a Palestinian flag before a recent fight.
“Mike Tyson poses with the Palestinian flag yesterday before his historic fight today…,” the image’s caption reads. The image features Tyson standing in the middle of a boxing ring with a Palestinian flag draped over his shoulders.
The claim is false. A content detection scan using the website “TrueMedia.org” reveals the image is AI-generated. The results of the same scan show the image contains “substantial evidence of manipulation” and “detects signatures of GenAI [Generative AI] tools.”
Likewise, the image is not featured in any recent credible news reports about Tyson. Actually, the opposite is true. On November 15, Newschecker debunked the claim, also reporting the image is AI-generated. (RELATED: Guy Fieri To Open Woke-Free Coffee Shops?)
In addition, the image is neither referenced on Tyson’s website nor on his verified social media accounts.
Furthermore, 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 very likely the product of a generative AI algorithm. The flag shown is not an accurate Palestinian flag. The Palestinian flag contains a single red triangle, while this flag shows a shape with more points than a triangle. This is a type of error that is common in the output of generative AI algorithms,” Scheirer said.
