The claim

A brief moment in Donald Trump's memorial video (see above) for the murdered Charlie Kirk has social media users speculating whether it was generated using artificial intelligence.

The evaluation

A deepfake is very unlikely. While experts see clear signs of video editing, they have no evidence that the entire video was AI-generated. The White House has stated that no AI was used.

Second 19 causes discussions

The one shown by US President Donald Trump during his speech for Charlie Kirk, who was shot and later died during an event in Utah, is four minutes long. But it is second 19 in particular that causes a stir (e.g. here, here and here): When Trump briefly separates his hands, which are usually always on top of each other, his fingertips disappear for a brief moment. The fingers of his upper left hand reduce from four to three over the course of a few frames and appear lumpy. On his right hand, on the other hand, there is an almost transparent shimmer to his index finger (see image gallery). Such an anomaly in a video is often referred to as a glitch.

I am sure that video manipulation has occurred

Hany Farid, deepfake expert and digital forensic scientist at the University of Berkeley and scientific director at GetReal Labs, told BBC Verify (archived here),"Visible distortions can be seen in several frames of the video, in which his right hand and tie are deformed. However, it is not clear whether this is the result of AI processing or simple video editing. But I am certain that video manipulation has occurred here." He does not believe that the entire video was AI-generated: "I see no evidence of that." Even an analysis of the audio does not change this: Two specialized audio models classified Trump's voice as authentic.

E

Henk van Ess, AI and verification expert and former Bellingcat employee, writes on X (archived here) that he also finds the video strange, partly due to the lack of movement in the mid-body. Real speakers shift their weight, gesture naturally, and adjust their posture. Here, however, the upper body remains unnaturally static, while the head and arms move. This actually points to a deepfake.

But the technical analysis speaks against it: I couldn't find any of the known models responsible for this video. It's either a custom model, a new player, or something more sophisticated. According to van Ess, the correct reflection on the table and the facial expressions also speak against a deepfake: The subtle, asymmetrical muscle contractions around the eyes and mouth are too organic for AI. Generative videos have difficulty creating these flawless, non-repeating microexpressions.

Nevertheless, the clip could be AI-generated: It is much more difficult to prove that something is real than to expose it as fake, says van Ess: But currently there is more evidence that this is a largely real video and not an AI-generated one.

A cut concealed by a fade could explain the glitch

The editorial team of BR24's Faktenfuchs also examined the video and asked an experienced media designer for his assessment (archived here). According to this unnamed colleague, a cut concealed by a fade could explain the glitch: Two video sequences are superimposed and visually merged. A so-called"morph cut" may have been used, which allows images to blend into one another as smoothly as possible.

White House rejects AI suspicion

The White House should know how the published version of the video came about. A reporter from nbcnews.com (archived here) confronted it with the circulating speculation. The White House stated:"No AI was used in this video." It called the claims a bluesky fever dream. A request from the Fact Fox to the White House has so far remained unanswered by BR24.

Conclusion

According to the experts interviewed, the video of Trump was edited. How is unclear. The explanation could lie in the post-production of the footage. However, a deepfake, as suspected on social media, is extremely unlikely based on the analyses.

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