Axios retracts fact-check after relying on AI-generated image to 'debunk' real video of Somali politician who spoke next to upside-down flag

Axios was forced to retract a story claiming that a viral video of Oregon political candidate Nafisa Fai standing in front of an upside-down American flag had been doctored after social media users pointed out that Fai’s own team used an AI-generated image to “fact-check” the claim.

Fai, who is running for Washington County chair, was reportedly filmed at a campaign event with an upside-down American flag displayed behind her. The remarks were covered by Somali television in Minnesota, and the video subsequently went viral on social media.

Fai dismissed the video as fabricated and posted on X an article from the Oregon Journalism Project (OJP) that described the footage as a “deepfake.” The article included an image of Fai alongside an American flag that was displayed properly.

“This is a prime example of how AI can attempt to interfere with political campaigns and destroy people’s reputations and lives,” Fai wrote.

Axios subsequently published a fact-checking dispute of the video, relying on OJP’s reporting. The outlet said that Kai’s team provided “screenshots showing the flag right-side up” and warned that the incident “signals how AI-assisted attack ads are putting words in candidates’ mouths and creating realistic but fabricated scenes.”

However, the original video showing the upside-down flag is authentic, while the image supplied to challenge its authenticity is believed to have been AI-generated. Social media users pointed to several inconsistencies in the image, including the absence of the Somali television network logo, the positioning of the flag’s stars, and differences in the banner displaying Fai’s name.

The End Wokeness on X also shared a result from OpenAI indicating that the image contained a “Synth ID watermark” that originated from the AI platform. 

The Oregon Journalism Project later retracted its report after obtaining additional images from the Minneapolis event that confirmed the flag was indeed displayed upside down. In a statement, the outlet said, “On Oct. 16, OJP interviewed Fai, who is running for Washington County chair. A Fai campaign supporter then provided a different video of the event to OJP that showed the flag right side up.”

“After publication, readers raised questions about the conflicting images. OJP then obtained new images that showed the flag at the Minneapolis event had in fact been upside down. For that reason, we have unpublished the original story. OJP regrets the error,” the outlet stated.

Axios then removed its own story, acknowledging that it had relied primarily on OJP’s reporting. Merira Gebel, the author of the Axios article, subsequently locked her account on X.