The senator’s attempt to end rumors about his health led to more online speculation about the image.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office released a photo Sunday night in an effort to answer weeks of questions about his health. In it, the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican smiles beside his wife, Elaine Chao, while holding what appears to be that day’s Washington Post Sports section.
But the image did not end the speculation about McConnell’s condition. Instead, it prompted more theories and even accusations that the image was fake, the latest test of public trust in the age of artificial intelligence.
McConnell has not been seen in public since he was hospitalized on June 14, and he has not voted in the Senate since June 11. For nearly a month, his office declined to explain why he was hospitalized and when he might return.
Amid that silence, others rushed to fill the vacuum with rumors. Right-wing influencers aligned with President Donald Trump spread unverified claims that the senator was gravely incapacitated and accused GOP leaders of a cover-up.
The written statement Sunday night attempted to quell those rumors — a long letter written in the first person in which McConnell said he had fallen at home, briefly lost consciousness and later developed pneumonia. His office also included a note from Congress’ Office of the Attending Physician that addressed McConnell’s condition and treatment.
But it was the photo that seemed to draw the most attention online.
In the image, McConnell is holding a copy of The Post’s July 12 sports section, featuring Chris Hacopian, the Washington Nationals’ selection with the No. 11 pick in this year’s MLB draft.
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Right-wing influencers — who have alleged without evidence for weeks that McConnell’s condition is worse than publicly disclosed — suggested on social media that the picture was fake. Several criticized McConnell’s office for not providing video or audio of the senator.
Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer who is an ally of Trump, posted on X that the copy of The Post looks “AI generated” and that McConnell’s “staff are liars.” Loomer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In response to a request from The Post for the original picture with metadata attached to confirm its authenticity, a spokesperson for McConnell said, “The press release yesterday your media outlet received has the original photo.”
Hany Farid, a digital forensics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, examined the photo and said there is no evidence that the image is fake or AI generated. He said that neither McConnell’s nor Chao’s face looks suspicious, according to an analytical model he used to examine the image. He said that the picture’s lighting is plausible and consistent, and that what is visible of the newspaper in McConnell’s hand is consistent with that day’s Post Sports section.
Farid noted that some AI-altered versions of the photo that have been circulating on social media show floating text and hallucinated text on the newspaper, but that the photo McConnell’s office sent did not have high enough resolution to show legible text.
In the Sunday statement, McConnell referenced the lack of transparency from his office about his condition, saying that people of his generation are often hesitant to share “the vulnerability that comes with growing older.”
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“Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct — I can’t help it,” he said.
