Photos of Messi bathing and carrying baby Lamine Yamal, not AI-generated

A photo that swept social media purporting to show Lionel Messi tenderly bathing and holding baby Lamine Yamal has been authenticated as genuine, settling a week-long debate that exposed how easily even major news outlets can spread false claims about deepfakes. The image, which circulated amid intense speculation about its authenticity, was confirmed by multiple forensic analysts and the parties involved, underscoring a troubling paradox: as artificial intelligence makes fakes easier to create, public trust in visual evidence continues to erode. The mix-up serves as a cautionary tale for a media landscape increasingly paralyzed by the specter of synthetic media, sometimes dismissing the real while hunting for the fake.

Dubawa·Aug 4