WASHINGTON, D.C. — The internet briefly went into chaos this week after an image, allegedly showing President Donald Trump using a walker in the White House, went viral. The image, which suspiciously appeared on numerous unverified profiles, was shared alongside the claim that it was taken after the President had just signed a major Executive Order AI Regulation.
This is a perfect, hilarious example of how AI-generated Trump health rumors fly faster than actual news.
The Truth About the Photo
According to fact-checkers and media outlets, the image is not real. No mainstream media house or credentialed White House photographer has shared such a picture. One fact-checker noted that the image “appears to be digitally altered or AI-generated.” This is particularly ironic, given the context of the alleged injury.
The President recently reacted to the intense, non-stop attention on his health, even suggesting in a Truth Social post that raising questions about it was “seditious.” However, the source of the fake image is not a rival political campaign, but the technology he was allegedly signing the order about: Artificial Intelligence.
The Truth About the Executive Order
While the picture is fake, the underlying political action is very real. President Trump did, in fact, sign an executive order to block states from regulating the rapidly emerging AI technology.
The order’s purpose is to prevent the country from having a “hodgepodge” of state-by-state rules that would stifle innovation and slow down American dominance in the AI race against other nations. The order calls for the Department of Justice to create an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge onerous state AI laws, which is a major win for Big Tech and a massive headache for liberal states like California that are trying to create their own strict rules.
So, while the President did not require a walker to sign the order, the executive order itself is a forceful step that will certainly leave state regulators needing a figurative one.
