TECH NEWS

Google’s deepfake detector system used to debunk McConnell hoax pic

In Brief

1:37 PM PDT · July 8, 2026

Google’s SynthID system has been used to debunk a high-profile AI-generated hoax image, in a rare but significant win for the system.

Earlier this week, a picture circulated online that seemed to show Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell covered in tubes in a hospital bed in a state of extreme distress. The image was shared widely on Reddit and X, but by Wednesday, the revered fact-checking site Snopes had debunked the image, noting that, when checked, the image registers as containing the SynthID watermark designed by Google to identify AI-generated pictures.

In short, the watermark worked exactly as it was supposed to in a win for anti-deepfake technology.

Senator McConnell’s health has been the subject of intense speculation since he checked into the hospital after an emergency call on June 14. Since that time, he’s been largely absent from the...

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