Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is facing backlash after reposting an AI-generated image on Easter Sunday that falsely depicted the rescue of U.S. fighter jet crew members from Iran. The governor has since deleted the X post without comment.
On April 5, Abbott shared the image on his verified X account with the comment “This is so awesome.” The photo showed smiling service members in military gear holding an American flag inside what appeared to be a rescue aircraft. X immediately labeled the image as AI-generated, and a community note clarified that the Pentagon has released no official photographs of the mission for operational security reasons.
The post came hours after U.S. special operations forces completed a complex rescue inside Iran. An F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iranian forces on Friday. One crew member, the pilot, was recovered quickly. The second airman — the weapons systems officer — evaded capture for several days before being safely extracted Saturday night. No U.S. fatalities were reported in the rescues.
Here is the since-deleted X post from Governor Abbott:
Gov. Abbott faces backlash after sharing AI-generated Iran rescue image
X
Abbott’s repost drew swift criticism online, with hundreds of comments accusing the governor of spreading misinformation during an active military operation. Some users mocked the post, while others expressed surprise that a public official appeared to accept the fabricated image as real. The governor’s office has not commented on the backlash as of Monday morning.
The real rescue operation unfolded amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, now in its fifth week following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in late February. President Donald Trump described the successful recovery as an “Easter miracle.”
This is not the first time Abbott has shared questionable content tied to the Iran situation. In early March, he reposted and later deleted video game footage he mistakenly presented as authentic U.S. military action against Iran.
The episode underscores broader concerns about the rapid spread of artificial intelligence-generated content during fast-moving international events and its potential to blur the line between fact and fiction for millions of viewers.
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