Boom, roasted: Victor Marx shares AI-generated photo of…

On August 28, 2024, at the Colorado State Fair Legislative BBQ, Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx posted an image to Facebook claiming to show him surrounded by hundreds of supporters. Attendees and photographic evidence contradicted the post, showing Marx sitting alone in bleachers while guests mingled on the floor below.

What happened

Marx shared an AI-generated image portraying himself shaking hands with a young man amidst a large crowd of adoring fans. He accompanied the photo with a narrative claiming he had forcefully held the man in place after being cursed at, before handing him off to a former military interrogator. Analysis of the event by attendees and photographic evidence revealed that the crowd in the image was entirely fabricated. Attendees noted that Marx spent most of the event isolated, with very few people approaching him.

The original caption labeled the post as a “photo depiction,” but following backlash from commenters, Marx updated the post eight hours later to clarify that it was an “AI photo depiction.” This incident is not an isolated case for the candidate; Marx previously shared an AI-generated video featuring a fictitious deputy endorsing his campaign. The candidate did not respond to requests for comment regarding the discrepancy between his social media posts and the reality of the event.