AI-generated image of elderly couple in Paris riots is fake

A viral image depicting an elderly couple being robbed of their clothing by protesters during recent unrest in Paris has been confirmed as AI-generated. The image, which circulated widely on social media, falsely suggests an incident involving octogenarians in their underwear in the middle of a street.

Fact-checking tools, including SynthID, have verified that the image is artificial. The misinformation was shared by various political figures and accounts, including Vox president Santiago Abascal and Aliança Catalana candidate Viqui Novell, often accompanied by inflammatory commentary regarding the protests in France.

This incident is part of a broader trend where manipulated media and out-of-context videos are used during periods of civil unrest to spread disinformation and hate speech.