Putin in The Hague, Trump in jail They can only be seen using the Midjourney neural network (for now)

This image was generated by Midjourney

Midjourney is a neural network that uses artificial intelligence to create images from a verbal description (if in simple words). You describe the plot, and Midjourney will make a picture out of it the way she understood your words.

In mid-March 2023, the creators of Midjourney introduced the fifth version of the algorithm, which can create very realistic images — almost like photographs. It was after its release that fake images of Vladimir Putin in a prison uniform in the courtroom, Donald Trump escaping from the police during his arrest, the Pope in a fashionable white down jacket and Elon Musk at the machine of a Soviet factory appeared on the network.

Many believed that these images are real.

Recent news about the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, as well as Donald Trump's statement about the plans of the US authorities to arrest him, made many people believe in the authenticity of the images. In fact, users who asked Midjourney to create such images were inspired by the headlines of the world's media.

Vladimir Putin in The Hague

On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, recognizing his personal responsibility for the deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. Immediately after that, many images appeared on social networks and messengers showing Putin being detained , tried in The Hague and sent to a prison cell.

This image was generated by Midjourney

Donald Trump in jail

Even more realistic are images of the detention of Donald Trump. They were generated and published in his Twitter account creator of the Bellingcat project Eliot Higgins. On them, Trump resists detention and runs away from the police, cries in the courtroom and washes prison toilets. As of this writing, the images have garnered over 6 million views and media outlets close to Trump have accused Higgins of spreading fake news. Although he did not hide the fact that the pictures are not real.

This image was generated by Midjourney

Pope Francis in a white jacket

The image of Pope Francis in a fashionable white down jacket, which does not fit into his usual wardrobe, was also very widely distributed. The pictures were published on Reddit and instantly went viral on Twitter, they are also made with the help of Midjourney. A few hours after the publication, Twitter moderators added a plate to all images that they were not real.

This image was generated by Midjourney

Elon Musk at a Soviet factory

Midjourney also showed how Elon Musk could look like behind a machine tool from a Soviet factory.

This image was generated by Midjourney

By Sergey Fomkin

2023