Real or AI? · Latest checks · Checked 3 October 2026

Senator Mitch McConnell sitting with his wife Elaine Chao, holding a newspaper: real or AI?

Short answer: this is real. The evidence is set out below.

Photo released by the office of Senator Mitch McConnell; posted on X by @cspan · Shown as an embedded post · Source

The answer: it is real

The photo was released by Senator McConnell's office on 12 July 2026 with a statement about his fall and recovery, and C-SPAN posted it on X. Many people online said it was AI-made or recycled from 2023. PolitiFact asked forensics experts Matthew Stamm and Hany Farid, who found no sign of AI, and nobody has found an earlier copy of the image.

The tells

The newspaper on his lap is the Sunday 12 July 2026 edition of The Washington Post, and its sports page matches the printed paper. The small print looks blurry, but that is normal for a photo squashed for social media, not a sign of editing. Some people said the picture was reused from 2023, but no earlier copy has ever been found online.

How we know

• Published fact-check: PolitiFact, 13 July 2026
• Published fact-check: Poynter, 14 July 2026

We only use a picture in the game when its origin is proven. Read how we check.

How to check something like this yourself

1. Search for the picture itself. Put it into Google Lens or TinEye and look for the oldest and sharpest copy.
2. Find who posted it first. See what they said about it and what else they post. Makers of AI pictures often say so, and that label is lost when the picture is copied.
3. Look for a fact-check. Search the main claim with the words “fact check”. Anything widely shared has usually been looked at.
4. Then look closely. Zoom in on hands, writing, edges and the background.

A real picture can look fake. Odd light, unusual lenses and heavy compression all make genuine images seem wrong, which is why the source matters more than the look. See real photos people swear are fake.

Full guide: How to reverse-search a picture.

More like this

REALDonald and Melania Trump frowning at the camera on a White House balcony

Picture shared on social media

REALA sawfish and a turtle swimming through pale, milky shallow water, seen from above

Picture shared on social media

REAL

The whole Earth, seen from space

REALDonald Trump seen through a plane window, beside a large printed sheet

Picture shared on social media