Internet once again fooled by AI-generated images of satanic Target merch | Fact check
The claim: Video shows satanic merchandise at Target
A July 11 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows a man speaking in front of a picture of a Target.
"So it looks like Target is at it again," the man says. "More of their evil agenda trying to be pushed on our little kids. ... Check out these pictures that I'm about to show you of what Target has in store for our little children and every one of you."
The video then shows images of satanic-themed decorations and clothing.
The video garnered more than 4,000 shares in 10 days, while the original TikTok garnered more than 70,000 likes in less than six weeks.
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Our rating: Altered
The images were created using AI. Target doesn't sell any such merchandise.
Satanic images are AI-generated
The set of images was originally shared on Facebook by a user named Pumpkin Empress on May 27.
"2023 Spring Target New Store line," reads the post's caption. "Ai pics : by yours truly, feel free to fall for it."
The user confirmed the images weren't real in the comments, adding that they were created to poke fun at those who previously accused Target of selling satanic merchandise.
"It’s a mockery of the people who 'heard' target had a satanist designing stuff for them and flipped out and boycotted the store," reads one of the user's comments beneath the post.
As is typically the case with AI-generated images, all the signs feature illegible symbols instead of English. Hive Moderation, an AI-detection tool, found the images were 99.7% likely to be AI-generated.
The user describes themselves as a digital creator on their Facebook page as well.
Fact check: Images of satanic statues at Hobby Lobby are digitally created
The New York Times mentioned the creator, Holly Alverez, in a June 28 article about AI-detection tools. The article features an image created by Alverez as part of an AI-generated set showing a satanic library club for children.
In a similar series of events, the set of images was shared online by conservative social media users who believed it was real.
In a May 8 Facebook post, Alvarez explained that the series of images were created using Midjourney, an AI-generating tool.
No such satanic-themed merchandise could be found on Target's website.
USA TODAY has previously debunked claims that AI-generated images show satanic-themed merchandise being sold at Target and Hobby Lobby.
USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The TikTok user couldn't be contacted.
The claim has also been debunked by PolitiFact.
Our fact-check sources:
- Pumpkin Empress, May 27, Facebook post
- Pumpkin Empress, May 8, Facebook post
- Pumpkin Empress, May 2, Facebook post
- Facebook, accessed July 21, Pumpkin Empress
- The New York Times, June 28, How Easy Is It to Fool A.I.-Detection Tools?
- Hive Moderation (web archive), July 21, Image Detection
Beth Ailes to Newsmax:
'Industrialized Devil
Worship' at Fox
On Friday, The Blaze reported that Fox News' company portal app, Fox Giving, matches employee donations of up to $1,000 to the Satanic Temple, the Trevor Project, Planned Parenthood, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and other liberal charities.
Beth Ailes, whose late husband established Fox News Channel as a conservative broadcasting pioneer, appeared on "Eric Bolling The Balance" and said she couldn’t believe it when she first learned about what Fox News was doing.
"I talked to my son, Zach, about this when I first heard and he said, 'Mom, I could just hear Dad saying, "Come on, guys. What are we doing here? This is completely nuts, stupid. Let's find the evildoer who thought this thing up and fire him."' And I concur with Zachary's assumption that [his father] would say that," she said.
Calling the network's actions "a betrayal of the Fox News core audience" that her husband "had sought to serve for so long," Ailes said it was also "an example of how the Murdochs have decided that they will give us all these reasons why this is OK. They will seek to have a triumph of reason over instinct.
"All of us know that devil worship, [gender-transition] care, you name it, some of the themes of these organizations that are available to match the donations ... they are evildoers," she continued. "As Christians, we have an obligation to call them out.
"Christianity is under attack. And what we're seeing from Fox is industrialized devil worship."
Beth Ailes called it "pure hypocrisy on the part of the corporate suits" that Fox News would match employee donations to such radical left groups, yet they wouldn't match dollar for dollar with the Franklin Graham Charity, which advertises on the network.
"I think that Roger and [late political commentator] Rush Limbaugh are very sad today," she said. "This is a sad revelation that we've been made aware of. But actually, I think people who were loyal to Fox have plenty of other options now, and I think that the way [Fox] treated Roger, Tucker [Carlson] ... they will suffer the consequences.
"Every action has a reaction, and we are seeing that their decisions in the boardroom are going to cause the decline and fall of Fox, which we are watching in real time."
Newsmax has reached out to Fox News for comment regarding The Blaze's report.
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