AI-generated disinformation and deepfakes on Truth Social Case Since returning to office, Trump has posted dozens of pieces of AI-generated and manipulated media on his own Truth Social account — ranging from self-glorifying fantasy images to fabricated 'news' segments and fake attack footage during an active military conflict — made possible in part by a taxpayer-funded White House aide (Natalie Harp) whose role centers on curating and posting this content, per NBC News and WSJ reporting. MedBed hoax (Sept 2025) Trump's Truth Social account posted, then deleted about a day later, an AI-generated video framed as a Fox News segment with a deepfaked Lara Trump announcing 'America's first MedBed hospitals' and a 'national MedBed card' that would give every citizen 'guaranteed access' to hospitals designed to 'restore every citizen to full health and strength.' Fox News stated the segment had 'never aired' on its network — it was entirely fabricated. There were no White House announcements about any such program. The clip appears to have originated on other social media accounts (traced to Instagram as early as Sept. 24, 2025) before being shared from Trump's account. 'MedBeds' is a preexisting QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theory claiming secret military/alien technology can cure any disease or regrow limbs. Misinformation researchers noted the specific harm risk: people with serious illnesses (e.g., Stage 4 cancer patients, stroke victims) reported believing the promised hospitals were real and imminent. Broader pattern of AI/fabricated media During the June 2025 Iran conflict, Trump posted an AI-generated video appearing to show a strike on Iran's Kharg Island oil facility that never happened; a Defense Department official confirmed Kharg Island was not among the targets struck, and Iran's national oil company called the claim 'laughable.' Because the White House has insisted Trump's Truth Social posts constitute official government statements, experts noted this made a fabricated video an official (if false) wartime communication from the commander in chief. An NBC News review found Trump posted dozens of AI-generated images and deepfake videos on Truth Social since returning to office in January 2025, with roughly half of them concentrated in August–September 2025 alone; many originated elsewhere online before he reshared them. Content spans from obvious fantasy imagery (Trump as a lion, as Jesus, as 'King Trump' in a fighter jet) to higher-mislead-risk fakes, such as a manipulated video of Jeffries and Schumer with fabricated audio. Other documented instances include a fabricated video of Barack Obama being arrested, an AI 'New America' reimagining of New Mexico posted over Labor Day weekend 2026 that drew backlash from local historians and officials, and a 43-image posting spree in one afternoon in July 2026 mocking critics and depicting Trump with JFK and George Washington. Separately, AI-generated content fabricated by other accounts (not Trump's own posts) has circulated at scale attacking or sexualizing Trump's association with Jeffrey Epstein, including fake images/video racking up over 7.2 million views per disinformation watchdog NewsGuard — illustrating the same synthetic-media environment cuts in multiple political directions, not just pro-Trump. Who produces this content The White House aide most closely tied to this content is Natalie Harp, who holds the official, taxpayer-funded position of 'Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President' since Jan. 20, 2025, reported salary ~$150,000/year. Per a Wall Street Journal report, Harp has been central to nearly 8,800 posts published to Trump's account since the second term began, with 44 documented late-night 'posting spree' bursts of dozens of posts; she controls much of what content reaches Trump for approval, though the White House says Trump personally approves everything before it posts. Harp is reported to have posted the racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes (Feb. 2026) and the Trump-as-Christ AI image (Atlanta Black Star, Aug. 2026, and earlier reporting). The White House said only that 'a staff member' posted the video in error and released no proof, and a March 2026 fact-check noted that only a small circle of aides, including Dan Scavino and Harp, had documented access. Trump said he watched only the beginning of the video before passing it to staff, blamed an editing error, and said 'No' when asked whether he would apologize. Whether a larger dedicated team beyond Harp exists, and any total cost to taxpayers (salaries, tools, contractors), is not established in reporting reviewed to date. Note The White House says Trump personally approves every post, and whether a given video is deliberate disinformation or meme-style trolling is a matter of interpretation. Sources [1] Alternet/AOL [2] NYT via Managing Editor newsletter (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/trump-fake-video-obama-arrest.html) · 2025-07-21 [3] Wikipedia: AI-generated content in American politics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI-generated_content_in_American_politics) [4] CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/28/politics/video/trump-shares-ai-video-promoting-medbeds-vrtc) [5] NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/truth-social-trump-embraced-ai-media-attack-foes-boost-image-rcna234978) [6] Wikipedia: Medbed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medbed) [7] Daily Beast (https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-turns-to-bombing-fantasy-after-humiliating-reality-leaks/) [8] Democracy Now (https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/2/headlines/trump_posts_then_deletes_deepfake_video_promoting_medbed_conspiracy_theory) [9] Alternet, citing WSJ (https://www.alternet.org/trump-posting-sprees/) [10] Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2026/07/27/trump-mocks-critics-touts-2028-run-and-poses-with-jfk-in-bizarre-ai-posting-spree/) [11] The Independent/Yahoo (https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/trump-fake-ai-video-kharg-123619950.html) [12] Snopes (https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/09/30/medbed-trump-ai-video/) [13] HuffPost/AOL, citing NYT reporting (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-medbeds-magic-hospital-beds_n_68daa9c3e4b0d196a63f513a) [14] Wikipedia: Natalie Harp (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Harp) [15] Malay Mail/NewsGuard (https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2025/07/26/trump-epstein-ai-deepfakes-rack-up-millions-of-views-researchers-say/185252) [16] Snopes — Trump's AI video of Obama's arrest (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-ai-video-obama/) [17] Atlanta Black Star — Trump aide Natalie Harp branded a 'monster' after racist attack on the Obamas (https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/08/21/trump-aide-natalie-harp-branded-a-monster-after-racist-attack-on-barack-and-michelle-obama/) · 2026-08-21 [18] Calgary Journal — Fact-checking who actually posted Trump's racist Obama ape video (https://calgaryjournal.ca/2026/03/03/fact-checking-who-actually-posted-trumps-racist-obama-ape-video/) · 2026-03-03 Connections Related — America.gov launch and the 'Super Intelligence' AI rename (Sept. 2026) The America.gov chatbot gave answers that contradicted Trump and then stopped answering political questions, a question about AI output and the president's claims. Shared mechanism — Katie Zacharia's Nov. 2025 post tying the abortion pill to Zyklon B via I.G. Farben (screenshot reviewed Oct. 2026) Both show administration-aligned figures spreading misleading content to shape public opinion; here the press secretary uses a guilt-by-association claim, there Trump posts AI-generated and manipulated media on Truth Social. Same actor — Presidential conduct: AI video mocking 'No Kings' protesters Both cover AI-generated videos Trump posted to Truth Social; NBC found dozens in nine months before the No Kings video. Shared mechanism — Trump's Truth Social threats to "hunt down" and jail critics and opponents Both are direct-from-Trump Truth Social posts weaponizing official/quasi-official platforms to threaten legal jeopardy against perceived enemies. Same context — US-Israeli strikes on an Iranian school, university and civilian sites; UN war-crimes findings Trump posted a fabricated AI video of a strike on Iran's Kharg Island that never happened during the same Iran war in which the real Minab school strike occurred and was initially denied by Trump.