Claim:
A vintage black-and-white photo posted on social media in September 2024 authentically showed a demon posing with a family.
Rating:
Fake ( About this rating? )
An image of a demonic-looking creature posing in front of a house with two men and two children in a vintage black-and-white photo circulated on social media in late September 2024.
Examples of the picture appeared on Threads , Reddit and X, where users claimed it either showed the " founders of Israel ," the " long lost family " of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or "open Satanists" the Rothschilds . It was also shared on X and YouTube in late August 2024.
Friday dose of Wyrd... What do you see?
by u/alcofrybasnasier in PrimevalEvilShatters
Some X users appeared to believe the authenticity of the image, with one person questioning which year it was taken, while another asked : "Holy s*** is this real?"
One of the X posts had amassed more than 5.1 million views as of this writing.
However, Snopes previously reported that details in the photo revealed it was generated using artificial intelligence software, which is why we have rated it as fake.
The two children's facial features, including their eyes, ears, mouths and noses, were clearly distorted, along with the collars of the two men. Such inconsistencies are a common feature of AI-generated images .
AI-detection sites Maybe AI and Hive Moderation both concluded the picture was highly likely to be AI-generated.
(Hugging Face / Umm-Maybe AI-image-detector)
The earliest iteration of the picture we found was posted on Tumblr in May 2023, alongside other clearly AI-generated images. However, we were unable to confirm whether that account posted the original.
Other social media users had previously used the same image to satirize numerous families and groups whom they jokingly claimed it depicted, such as the British royal family , the Trump family , British Conservative former politician Jacob Rees-Mogg's family , American far-right activist Laura Loomer's family and the right-wing faction of the British Conservative Party, Popular Conservatism .
(Hive Moderation AI-Generated Content Detection)
The Rothschilds , best known as a European banking dynasty stretching back two centuries, are frequently targeted by misinformation. Antisemitic conspiracy theories concerning them — such as linking them to the Illuminati, the New World Order and other shadowy groups that supposedly influence world governments — date back to the 18th century. They have also been blamed for starting wars for personal gain, funding the Holocaust, and assassinating U.S. presidents.
Snopes has previously addressed false claims about the family's wealth , their alleged desire for a third world war , and numerous other subjects .
Sources:
AI Image Detector - a Hugging Face Space by Umm-Maybe. https://huggingface.co/spaces/umm-maybe/AI-image-detector . Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.
Britannica Money. 20 Sept. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/money/Rothschild-family .
Hardinges, Nick. 'Rothschild Family Posed with "Demon" in B&W Vintage Photo?' Snopes, 1 May 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/rothschild-family-demon-photo/ .
Hive Moderation. https://hivemoderation.com/ai-generated-content-detection . Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.
Lee, David Emery, Jessica. '4 Tips for Spotting AI-Generated Pics'. Snopes, 16 Apr. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//articles/464595/artificial-intelligence-media-literacy/ .
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