Former President Donald Trump has been under investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg for allegedly paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election. Daniels reportedly received the hush money from Michael Cohen, Trump’s one-time attorney, and Trump then made monthly repayments to Cohen citing “legal charges.”

Trump’s indictment became anticipated last week when Bragg’s office offered Trump the opportunity to testify before the grand jury, typically signifying that an indictment is imminent. Trump declined this invitation.

The district attorney is reportedly pursuing a felony charge against the former president, who is also the current frontrunner of the Republican party for the 2024 presidential election. This felony charge would be based on a combination of falsifying business records, elevated by a violation of New York state election laws. According to an article by The New York Times, Bragg may argue that the $130,000 payout indirectly acted as an improper donation to Trump’s election fund as Daniels’ silence was beneficial to Trump’s campaign.

If Bragg is unsuccessful in proving Trump’s guilt for either of these accusations, the offense would be a misdemeanor.

Trump is also being investigated by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for whether or not he interfered with the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The buzz surrounding reports that Trump was to be indicted last week brought forward an additional concern regarding breaking news. That concern is AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology.

After rumors circulated on the internet that Trump was to be indicted Tues. Mar. 21, images soon followed the flurry. The images show Trump being arrested in New York. These images were later proven to be falsified.

The most popular images to circulate the internet were produced by Eliot Higgins with an AI image generator tool by Midjourney. Higgins tweeted, “Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump’s arrest,” with an attachment of two photos constructed with AI technology. In the photos, Trump appears to be fighting arrest.

AI technology, especially photo technology, is proving itself to be a growing threat. While Trump’s high-profile status allowed for a quick fact-check in order to disprove the reality of the photos, an individual with a low-exposure status would not be able to disprove the truths of the images so quickly.

There are some tell-tale signs to look out for in AI photos, the most widely discussed being hands; oftentimes hands will have an incorrect number of appendages. In addition to this, words will appear as a combination of unrecognizable symbols. Oftentimes, objects will be out of place. In the case of the photos of Trump, in one photo he is wearing a police officer’s utility belt. Among others, these details act as key indicators of whether or not the photo is of reality or a fictional creation of AI technology.

UPDATE: Mar. 30, 2023, the grand jury investigating the case voted to indict Trump.