Between August 15 and 18, a Georgian-language Facebook group “Anti-Maidan! Voice of the Nation!” and several Russian-speaking (1;2;3;4;5) users circulated a photo which, according to their claim, shows a banner placed by Ukrainians and/or their supporters on a bust of Martin Luther King in Alaska. The banner reads, “Martin Luther King was also Ukrainian! He had a dream of free Ukraine!” The date of the posts coincides with the August 15 meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.
The circulated photo, showing a banner on Martin Luther King’s bust, is not real. The image was generated by artificial intelligence. Both the depicted sculpture and its surroundings differ significantly from the real ones.
On August 15, while the presidents of the United States and Russia were meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, a group of Ukraine supporters held a protest rally, criticizing Russia’s crimes. Protesters held many banners, but no open-source information indicates that they placed any banner on Martin Luther King’s bust.
Verification of real photos of the bust and its surroundings in Anchorage shows sharp differences from the circulated image. Differences are noticeable in the paint color, the shape of the nose, the structure of the ear, and other minor details. However, the most striking difference appears in the rear view of the bust: in the fake photo, only one reddish building and a few trees are visible behind the sculpture, while in real photos, multiple buildings stand in that exact spot.
Photo spread on social networks
For greater clarity, we also checked Google Maps. Using its Street View function, it becomes evident that it is impossible to take a photo of the bust with a background resembling the one seen in the circulated Facebook image – further confirming it was generated using artificial intelligence.
In addition to these inaccuracies, several features indicate that the image was AI-generated: the blurred background, the smooth, AI-typical visual surface and colors, and the unnatural formation of letters on the whiteboard, among others.
The image was also analyzed with tools designed to detect AI-generated photos. According to AI or Not, the photo was “likely AI-generated,” while WasItAI concluded that the photo or a significant part of it was created by artificial intelligence.
The information was also fact-checked by StopFake. The organization confirmed that the image was AI-generated and spread to discredit Ukrainians, and that no such incident took place in Alaska.
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