AI image of crowd at Kamala Harris rally was not shared by her campaign

What's the claim?

A 20-second TikTok video showing an AI-generated image of a large crowd in a stadium has gone viral. The video has been shared to claim that the Kamala Harris campaign shared the AI-generated image to exaggerate the size of the crowd at one of her rallies.

The facial expressions are notably uniform, with many people appearing expressionless or overly focused, indicating the image is AI-generated. The video also has images that zoom in on specific sections of the crowd, highlighting abnormalities in several individuals' faces. These faces exhibit distortions, further suggesting it was created with AI.

The final part of the video shows a scene that appears to be at an airport, with a large blue airplane in the background. Notably, the reflection on the side of the plane, highlighted in red, does not appear to show people but rather an empty landing strip. In the foreground, a blurry crowd can be seen holding up signs, including one that reads "KAMALA." 

Throughout the video, the text "What's up with the people at Kamala Harris's Rally?" is displayed prominently, raising questions about the authenticity of the crowd.

Screenshot of the viral TikTok video. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

An archive of the TikTok video can be found here.

The same AI-generated image has also been shared on X (formerly Twitter) with captions like: "A picture from one of Kamala's rallies. Your Thoughts?" Archived versions of the X posts can be found here, here, and here.

Screenshot of the viral X posts. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, while the image is AI-generated, it originates from a parody account, and was not shared by Harris or her campaign.

What we found

A reverse image search showed that the image was originally posted on X by the user @Sarcasmcat24 on August 10 (archived here), accompanied by the caption: "The Harris/Walz rally last night had electricity that I've never seen before. The right hates this." 

The account's bio (archived here) clearly identifies it as a parody, prominently displaying the word "PAR/ODY." The full bio reads: "PhD, MD, Doctor of Pepper. PAR/ODY. Kamala is brat."

Screenshot of the X post, and bio. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Social media users have commented on the X post, pointing out irregularities in the crowd's faces and noting distortions and anomalies. 

We found that the account had replied to users who commented on the image, claiming that they were the creator of the AI-generated image, and pointed out that it was a parody account, adding that the image was intended to mock the Harris campaign.

In response to a comment asking, "Where does this photo come from? Has to be a MAGA troll who created it to blame Harris," the user clarified (archived here), "You're gonna hate this, but I created it with AI." 

Additionally, the user shared a zoomed-in view of specific sections of the crowd, pointing out abnormalities in several individuals' faces. They added (archived here), "If you recently followed my account for the viral 'Harris/Walz' rally photo I created with AI, welcome! I'll do my best to follow back as much as the app allows."

In response to a now-deleted post, the user (archived here) said, ''That's a photo that I generated with AI Zoom in a bit, you'll see that the faces aren't even well developed. Yeah, I run a parody account, glad you enjoyed the post"

In another reply to a now-deleted comment, the user (archived here) mentioned the app they used to create the AI image, stating, "I made it with Photoleap. It's a pretty simple app." Photoleap is a photo editing app with tools for photo enhancement and AI-powered features.

Screenshot of the X posts. (Source: X/Screenshots)

There is no evidence or source provided to suggest that this image was generated by anyone other than the parody account that originally shared it.

The official X accounts for Harris and her campaign did not post the AI-generated image in question.

The photo of the airplane

The TikTok video also featured images of an airport with a large airplane in the background from Harris' rally in Detroit.

On August 11, former U.S. President Donald Trump posted the same photo on Truth Social, claiming that Harris "A.I.'d" the image to depict a massive crowd. He suggested that the alleged tampering could be verified by examining the reflection on the vice president's plane.

However, multiple fact-checking organizations, including Logically Facts, debunked this claim, confirming based on an analysis of the image, the simultaneous video streams of the rally, and comparable photos from the event, that there were indeed people in attendance at the rally and that the photo Trump posted was not generated by AI.

The verdict

An AI-generated image has been widely circulated with claims that the Harris campaign used it to exaggerate the size of a rally crowd. However, while the image was indeed AI-generated, it was created and shared by a parody account — not by the Harris campaign.

 Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.S. Election 2024 here.