White House window video blows up on social media, Trump blames AI
President Donald Trump has blamed artificial intelligence (AI) for a viral White House video that users desperately wanted to be real.
On Monday, a video on the Instagram account “washingtonianprobs” popped up on users' feeds, showing an unknown figure launching two items out of a window in the White House.
The video, submitted anonymously as per the video’s caption, shows someone in white pants with their leg on the window ledge throwing a small black object from the east wing of the White House.
In just two days, the video received over 43,000 likes, 24,000 shares, and almost 1,000 comments.
Many users, who desperately wanted the video to be real, came up with imaginative ideas as to what the mysterious black object could be.
“Melania throwing his sh*t on the lawn,” said one Instagram user, while others said that the little black object must’ve been the Constitution.
“Probably the Epstein Files,” posited another user after President Trump received backlash after denying the existence of the mythical client list of disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The legitimacy of the viral video came into question after the White House’s press department seemed to confirm that the person in the video was a contractor who was doing regular maintenance, Associated Press (AP) reports.
However, President Trump told the media that this was certainly an AI-generated video, as these windows are almost impossible to open.
He explained how the first lady, Melania Trump, complained of a lack of ventilation in the White House, as the windows are sealed shut, bulletproof, and weigh roughly 600 pounds. “You have to be pretty strong to open them,” the president added.
AP reports that the President watched the video on Fox News Channel journalist Peter Doocy’s phone and immediately blamed AI.
White House window video: real or fake?
While it’s unclear whether the video is real, the White House has announced that construction is being done on the property. This means that contractors could’ve been throwing debris out the window during construction.
However, the former first lady, Michelle Obama, and the current first lady’s complaints that the windows cannot easily be opened have cast doubt on this theory.
But it’s also unlikely that the video was generated using artificial intelligence, as there are no clear indicators that come along with AI-generated videos.
The way the video is shot suggests that it was filmed on a handheld camera, and the motion indicates that it was filmed by a real person.
Furthermore, a digital forensics and misinformation expert who reviewed the footage seems to think there are no signs of AI in the video, according to AP.
