Is an image from a Kamala Harris political rally in Detroit a "FAKE AI PHOTO" because the reflection on the plane's engine and fuselage doesn't show a crowd? No, that's not true: the reflection on the plane's engine can be explained by a basic law of physics as the plane sits at an angle relative to the crowd so the reflection shows a different part of the airport. The August 2024 campaign rally received extensive coverage from TV networks and various media outlets, depicting a crowd of thousands, consistent with the image in question.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook on August 10, 2024. It opened:
Check the reflection on the engine. Where's the crowd? LOOKS LIKE A FAKE AI PHOTO
They all must be Vampires!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Aug 12 14:56:54 2024 UTC)
The post provided no documentation or other independent evidence to support its claim that computer-generated imagery had been used to add the crowd to the image or make the gathering appear larger. It also doesn't explain how the lack of a reflection on the plane's engine proves the crowd wasn't there.
The rally
The Harris rally is easily proven to have taken place at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport on August 7, 2024. It was widely covered live by national and local media (archived here) as it happened. In all cases, images and videos from the event show a large crowd. Here's a screenshot showing Harris' plane arriving at the hangar as shown live by Fox Business:
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Fri Aug 9 23:41:03 2024 UTC)
A separate screenshot as shown live by the Detroit Free Press, also shows a densely packed crowd at the airport as it awaits the arrival of Harris' plane:
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Fri Aug 9 23:55:51 2024 UTC)
Social media image
DeepFake-o-meter
The image in the social media post was not digitally manipulated. First, Lead Stories ran it through an online tool called the DeepFake-o-meter, hosted by The University at Buffalo's Media Forensic Lab, which focuses on "the forensic analysis of digital media." The following screenshot shows the findings: that the image from the rally shows no evidence of being AI-generated:
(Source: Deepfake-o-meter screenshot taken on Mon Aug 12 16:44:07 2024 UTC)
Hive Moderation
A tool on Hive Moderation, another website that detects AI-generated content, said the image is "not likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content." A screenshot appears below:
(Source: Hive Moderation screenshot taken on Mon Aug 12 16:58:45 2024 UTC)
Law of reflection
The reason you don't see the crowd on the plane's engine can be explained by a basic principle of physics known as the law of reflection.
It can be demonstrated this way: When light hits a shiny surface like a mirror, it bounces off just like a ball bouncing off a wall. The angle at which the light hits the mirror is the same as the angle at which it bounces away.
So, if you shine a flashlight straight at a mirror, the light will bounce straight back. If you shine it at an angle, the light will bounce off at the same angle on the other side. This illustration from the CK-12 Foundation -- and open-source website for students and teachers -- shows how it works:
(Source: CK-12 Foundation website screenshot taken on Mon Aug 12 18:09:16 2024 UTC)
Ultimately, we can't see the crowd at the rally reflected in the plane's engine because of the angle the photograph was taken. The reflection isn't of the crowd because the picture wasn't taken directly in front of it. What we're seeing is another part of the airport.
It's just like if you looked at a mirror from the side. You wouldn't see yourself, you would see something reflected from the other side of it at the same angle.
Read more
Other fact check agencies have also reviewed this claim, including Australian Associated Press and Snopes.
Lead Stories has debunked other claims related to the 2024 presidential election, which can be read here.
