HOUSTON — Greg Abbott faced criticism Sunday after reposting an AI-generated image on social media that falsely depicted the rescue of two U.S. airmen whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran.
Abbott shared the image on X with the caption “This is so awesome,” after it was originally posted by another account claiming to show the rescue. The platform labeled the image as AI-generated.
The image circulated online following reports that a U.S. F-15E fighter jet was downed over Iran on Friday. U.S. officials confirmed that both airmen were later recovered, with the second crew member rescued Saturday night.
Social media users criticized Abbott’s post, noting that the image did not depict an իրական event. Some users pointed out that the image had already been flagged as artificially generated, while others mistakenly believed it showed the actual rescue.
The governor’s office did not immediately comment on whether Abbott knew the image was AI-generated at the time of the repost.
The incident follows a previous case in March in which Abbott reposted a video from a video game, later identified as inauthentic, that was presented as footage of a military encounter involving U.S. and Iranian forces.
The controversy comes amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, now in its fifth week following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in late February.
Donald Trump described the rescue of the airmen as an “Easter miracle” and warned that the U.S. could take further action if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by a stated deadline.