Do two viral videos authentically show a 200-foot statue of Jesus Christ being placed on the grounds of the White House in Washington? No, that's not true: Both videos were possibly generated using AI according to online detection tools, and a live webcam of the White House shows no such statue. Details in the videos, such as the number of floors and windows of the "White House" seen in the background, also didn't match reality, pointing to an AI-generated origin.
Both videos appeared on a TikTok account named @spectacularsights, which has a bio that reads "Spreading the light of Jesus through faith-filled content. 🙏✨" and which seems to specialize in posting videos featuring Jesus imagery.
One of the videos was uploaded on TikTok (archived here) on Thursday, February 13, 2025, with a caption that read:
A first look at the 200-foot statue of Jesus being risen on the White House lawn. A bold reminder that no matter who sits in office, Christ is King!
As this monument takes shape, let it be a symbol that faith is the foundation of this nation. Imagine standing before it, looking up at His presence over our capital--powerful, unshakable, eternal.
#JesusOverAmerica #OneNationUnderGod #FaithInTheWhiteHouse #JesusLovesYou #ChristianUnity #GodsPlan #PraiseTheLord #ChristianPatriot #ChristIsKing #FaithOverPolitics #RevivalComing #AmericaForJesus #HolyMonument #FaithOverFear #ChristianCommunity
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
@spectacularsights A first look at the 200-foot statue of Jesus being risen on the White House lawn. A bold reminder that no matter who sits in office, Christ is King! As this monument takes shape, let it be a symbol that faith is the foundation of this nation. Imagine standing before it, looking up at His presence over our capital--powerful, unshakable, eternal. #JesusOverAmerica #OneNationUnderGod #FaithInTheWhiteHouse #JesusLovesYou #ChristianUnity #GodsPlan #PraiseTheLord #ChristianPatriot #ChristIsKing #FaithOverPolitics #RevivalComing #AmericaForJesus #HolyMonument #FaithOverFear #ChristianCommunity ♬ original sound - OnlyByYourGraceJesus - Nat ✞
The other was uploaded on TikTok (archived here) on Friday, February 14, 2025, with a caption that read:
This 200-foot Jesus statue on the White House lawn is a powerful reminder that no matter who leads the nation, Christ reigns forever.
Imagine walking up to the gates and seeing this--arms open wide, welcoming all. A symbol of hope, strength, and the foundation this country was built on. #JesusOverAmerica #OneNationUnderGod #FaithInTheWhiteHouse #ChristIsKing #PraiseTheLord #ChristianPatriot #FaithOverFear #RevivalComing #ChristianCommunity #JesusLovesYou @President Donald J Trump @Greg Price @Karoline Leavitt
This is what it looked like:
@spectacularsights This 200-foot Jesus statue on the White House lawn is a powerful reminder that no matter who leads the nation, Christ reigns forever. Imagine walking up to the gates and seeing this--arms open wide, welcoming all. A symbol of hope, strength, and the foundation this country was built on. #JesusOverAmerica #OneNationUnderGod #FaithInTheWhiteHouse #ChristIsKing #PraiseTheLord #ChristianPatriot #FaithOverFear #RevivalComing #ChristianCommunity #JesusLovesYou @President Donald J Trump @Greg Price @Karoline Leavitt ♬ God Only Knows - for KING & COUNTRY
Lead Stories ran both 10-second videos through the AI detection tool at hivemoderation.com. The tool gave the first video an aggregate score of 39.6 percent and the second video 43.3 percent, concluding in both cases it was "not likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content" but not discounting the possibility either:
(Source: screenshot of hivemoderation.com results obtained by Lead Stories on February 16, 2025 at 14:27:35 and 14:28:33 UTC)
However, both videos contained artifacts that point toward the conclusion that they were generated using AI. In the video featuring the crane a worker can be seen who appears to float through a piece of scaffolding, the lettering on the crane has the typical distortions associated with AI video, and the "White House" in the background only has three windows in the wing of the building where the real one has four.
(Source: video screenshots taken by Lead Stories on February 16, 2025 at 14:49:12 UTC, White House photo detail MattWade, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
The other features a "White House" in the background with three rows of windows, where the real one has only two:
(Source: video screenshots taken by Lead Stories on February 16, 2025 at 13:01:54 UTC, White House photo detail MattWade, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Lead Stories also checked the live webcam provided by earthTV.com pointed at the White House and there was no sign such a statue was being erected:
(Source: earthTV.com screenshot taken on Sun Feb 16 10:03 AM local time in Washington D.C.)
