| schema:text
| - An image showing a close-up of an exhausted man is being shared with a claim that it shows Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The claim points out that Assange is in terrible condition in the prison.
Who shared it?: Along with several social media users, the Russian Embassy in Kenya also tweeted this photo stating that Assange is in jail because he had released a video of United States Forces firing on Iraqi civilians 13 years ago.
(Note: Swipe to view all screenshots.)
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
(This image is also viral on Twitter.)
Is this image real?: This image is generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) on an AI art tool, Midjourney.
More about Assange: Assange was arrested in London in 2019 for publishing confidential documents about the US army and their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010.
How did we find out the truth?: We ran a reverse image search on the viral picture and came across a tweet carrying the same photo by a user named 'The Errant Friend'.
The image was shared on 30 March.
The caption of the image mentioned words of support for Assange.
We came across the user's Telegram channel where the creator has clarified about using AI to generate this viral image of Assange.
The text said, "I sought to make his documented suffering real, and succeeded in doing so. The image is designed to evoke a visceral response in the viewer, putting them into a moral quandary. What do we do, when Julian is not just a memory and platitudes, but a human suffering in front of us?"
We reached out "The Errant Friend": The creator of this viral image confirmed to The Quint that he created this image using Midjourney version 5.
He also added that he wanted to create awareness around Assange's state.
Report with the creator's interview: We came across a German news outlet, BILD, which carried an interview with the creator of this viral image.
The report stated that the creator identifies themselves as E.
It adds that Assange's wife, Stella (40), a Swedish-Spanish lawyer, told BILD that this photo is a fake.
We looked for more AI-generated images of Assange of Midjourney: We searched for Assange's images with similar prompts.
(Note: Swipe to check all the screenshots.)
A relevant prompt search showed this result of his older version.
(Source: Midjourney/Screenshot)
(Note: The story has been updated to add the creator's quote.)
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on , or e-mail it to us at and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories .)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)