Rama Duwaji AI image incident — Nov 2026
A staff writer at The Free Press admitted to using AI to alter an image of Rama Duwaji at a political event to critique her fashion choices
- Reported date
- Nov 5, 2026
- Target
- Rama Duwaji
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
What happened
During the 2026 midterm election night, Olivia Reingold, a staff writer at The Free Press, posted an image on X while reporting from an event for the Michigan Democratic Party. The post featured a photograph of a woman holding a gold quilted Chanel handbag and wearing Valentino Rockstud leather pumps, captioned with a list of designer items spotted at the event. The image was intended to critique the fashion choices of Rama Duwaji, the wife of Zohran Mamdani, in relation to her political beliefs.
Observers noted several visual discrepancies in the image, including inconsistencies in the Chanel bag's design and structural errors in the Valentino shoes, such as straps that appeared to cut through connecting material. These artifacts are characteristic of artificial intelligence generation. Subsequent analysis using AI detection tools, including Google DeepMind’s SynthID, indicated that the media had been edited using OpenAI technology. Following the scrutiny, Reingold admitted on X that she had used AI to "brighten and sharpen" the image of the woman.