A disturbing trend has emerged on social media, where online detectives are inaccurately claiming to have identified a federal agent who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. The culprit behind this misinformation? Artificial intelligence (AI)-manipulated images that have been altered to reveal the identity of the agent.
In the hours following the shooting, which took place on January 7, videos of the incident were shared on mainstream social media platforms including X, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky, and TikTok. However these clips did not include footage of any of the masked federal agents with their masks off. But within hours multiple images showing an unmasked agent began circulating on the internet.
These AI-altered images appear to be screenshots taken from actual video footage but are then manipulated using artificial intelligence tools. They have been shared widely online, with some claiming that they provide evidence of the agent's identity.
But experts warn these images may not accurately reconstruct the facial identity of the agent. Dr Hany Farid, a professor at UC-Berkeley who has studied AI’s ability to enhance facial images, says: “AI, or any other technique, is not able to accurately reconstruct the facial identity when half of the face is obscured.”
In the hours following the shooting, which took place on January 7, videos of the incident were shared on mainstream social media platforms including X, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky, and TikTok. However these clips did not include footage of any of the masked federal agents with their masks off. But within hours multiple images showing an unmasked agent began circulating on the internet.
These AI-altered images appear to be screenshots taken from actual video footage but are then manipulated using artificial intelligence tools. They have been shared widely online, with some claiming that they provide evidence of the agent's identity.
But experts warn these images may not accurately reconstruct the facial identity of the agent. Dr Hany Farid, a professor at UC-Berkeley who has studied AI’s ability to enhance facial images, says: “AI, or any other technique, is not able to accurately reconstruct the facial identity when half of the face is obscured.”
think about it, anyone can use AI to create fake pics that look super realistic. and once they're out there, it's hard 2 take 'em down. we gotta keep in mind that these images might not be what they seem... i mean, even experts say they can't accurately reconstruct facial identities when the face is half-hidden. so let's all just take a deep breath & think before we share 
like it's no big deal. We need to make sure that if someone tries to spread misinformation, it gets flagged ASAP 
. And what's up with all these images of the agent being shared around? Can we really trust them? Like, are they even real? I mean, my grandma can barely use a smartphone, but she'd be like "oh no, I knew that!" if she saw one of those pics 
... and then maybe we wouldn't have this whole mess 
.
It's crazy how quickly they can go viral and cause chaos. And now, some people are actually sharing these manipulated pics as if they're the real deal... like they have any idea what's going on 
I mean, come on, experts are saying that AI can't even accurately reconstruct facial identities when half of the face is obscured... it's not exactly rocket science 
But do we listen? Nope 
It's just another example of how AI can be used to spread lies and manipulate public opinion. Can't we just wait for the facts before sharing our opinions online? 
And if you see a pic of some agent with their mask off take a second step back and question where did this image come from? 
#StaySavvyOnline #VerifyBeforeSharing #CriticalThinking 
#FakeNewsAlert #SocialMediaBlameGame #GetYourFactsStraight
. Plus, AI can't even get our faces right without the masks on 
, so what's one or two obscured faces gonna do? 
at the same time tho it's wild how quickly misinformation spreads online, i mean 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good's life was cut short over a manipulated image? that's just not right 
we gotta be more careful about what we share online and where we get our info from. I remember back in the day when you could actually see the grain of old footage, this AI-enhanced stuff is wild