- By Supratik Das
- Mon, 21 Jul 2025 11:03 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
US President Donald Trump has stirred new controversy after posting an AI-generated video on Truth Social, showing the FBI arresting former President Barack Obama within the Oval Office. The video, presented without a disclaimer, has ignited nationwide indignation, bewilderment, and debate across the internet. On Monday, Trump posted the digitally manipulated clip, which starts with an original clip of Barack Obama asserting, "Especially the President is above the law." The video cuts later to several American lawmakers stating, "No one is above the law."
The clip’s most shocking part shows an AI-generated scene of two FBI agents handcuffing Obama in the Oval Office, which he once occupied as President. Trump can be seen sitting in the background, smiling as the fictional arrest unfolds. The fake footage ends with Obama inside a jail cell, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. Trump did not include any disclaimer or announcement that the video was completely fake, created with artificial intelligence. Trump's AI stunt has attracted fierce criticism from political analysts as well as netizens. Multiple people criticized the video as "deeply irresponsible" for deliberately obfuscating the line between truth and fiction. On social media site X (formerly Twitter), panic spread quickly, as hashtags such as #ArrestObama trended as some expressed wonder whether an actual arrest was feasible. "Is this real? Can Obama actually be arrested?" one queried. Another said, "This is irresponsible and misleading. People are going to believe it."
Tulsi Gabbard Calls For Prosecution of Obama Officials
The video follows just weeks after Trump repeated charges against Barack Obama of "high-level election fraud" related to the 2016 presidential election. Adding fuel to the fire, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Friday claimed she has “striking” evidence that top Obama-era officials “manufactured” the Trump-Russia collusion narrative to sabotage Trump’s presidency. In a statement, Gabbard explained, "Americans will finally learn how intelligence was politicized and weaponized to set the stage for what was essentially a multi-year coup against President Donald Trump." She demanded criminal prosecutions of several Obama administration officials, pointing out that her office is providing all documents to the Department of Justice for potential criminal charges.
But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) just put out a comprehensive 114-page report that seems to contradict Gabbard's bombshell accusations. The report cited that prior to the 2016 presidential election, the US Intelligence Community universally determined that Russia "probably was not trying to influence the election by cyber means." It also reported that a December 2016 draft of the President's daily brief stated Russia "did not impact recent US election results" by conducting cyber attacks.
The viral deepfake video has renewed worries of increasing use of AI-generated disinformation in US politics, particularly with the 2024 US Presidential Election on the horizon.
