Supporters of President Donald Trump gleefully shared what they believed to be the mugshot of Hannah Dugan, the county judge arrested by the FBI in Milwaukee last week for allegedly obstructing attempts by ICE to detain an undocumented immigrant.
But the image of a sobbing Dugan is an AI fake. And when some tried to correct their errors, they fell for another AI picture.
After Dugan’s arrest on Friday, an image purporting to show the judge crying in an orange jumpsuit spread like wildfire among conservatives across social media.
Prominent right-wing figures, such as X user Catturd, were among the users who racked up millions of views while mocking the judge.
“Happy ‘No one is above the law’ Day,” he wrote.
Dugan’s arrest signifies a massive escalation in Trump’s immigration crackdown. The judge is accused of escorting an undocumented immigrant and his defense attorney through a nonpublic jury door in order to avoid federal agents.
Despite significant concerns from civil liberties experts, Trump fans by and large couldn’t be happier about the arrest.
“Cry, [expletive]. CRY!” another wrote.
After the image was determined to be a fake, and numerous fact-checking websites concluded that the mugshot was the product of AI, at least some Trump supporters admitted they had been duped.
Trump’s base quickly saved face, though, claiming to have located Dugan’s real mugshot. Again, mockery of the judge ensued.
Infowars’ Alex Jones was just one of numerous users to showcase their inability to fact-check themselves by promoting the new image as legitimate.
“Who knew goblins actually existed? The mugshot of activist judge Hannah Dugan crying and wearing orange was confirmed an AI-generated picture,” Jones wrote. “Her actual mugshot was released this morning. Lookin’ great Hannah! FAFO!”
Popular right-wing user Juanita Broaddrick likewise heralded the second image as real.
“Whoa!! This official mugshot of Judge Hannah Dugan is even worse than the AI version in the orange jumpsuit. Ewwwww,” she wrote.
“Mugshots of Judge Hannah Dugan: Left is AI-generated. Right is official,” wrote a poster, not realizing the other was fake as well.
But just as before, the image was fake. And a mugshot of the judge has not been made publicly available.
Nevertheless, Trump supporters continue to revel in the fake images circulating online.
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