Conservative Facebook groups were thrown into a frenzy last week over a series of images that appeared to show children wearing Target clothing adorned with Satanic imagery. The pictures, which also included horned mannequins in a store setting, were later confirmed to be AI-generated fabrications, yet they managed to deceive thousands before being debunked.
The images first appeared on May 30 in a Facebook group called Christian Patriots, where administrators shared them with a warning to Christian parents. One post read, “Look at the faces on these children, I feel in my spirit, they even knew there was something satanic with making them be photographed with these clothes on. If you are a Christian and a parent and you shop at Target, Lord, have mercy on you.”
Despite a skeptical commenter asking, “Is this for real?” the page’s admin insisted, “Unfortunately it is.” That assertion, however, was quickly disproven. The images were created by Dan Reese, a Facebook user who posted them in the group “AI Art Universe” and later confirmed to Reuters that he used the text-to-image AI system Midjourney to generate them.
Target, for its part, issued a statement to Reuters confirming that the retailer “has never sold” the products depicted in the images. The products, of course, do not exist. Facebook eventually marked the images as false, but not before they had spread across multiple groups and sparked heated debates.
Why the Hoax Gained Traction
The incident comes at a time when Target is already at the center of conservative backlash over its Pride-themed clothing and gender-affirming merchandise for children. The fake images appeared to play into that narrative, mocking critics who have accused the retailer of pushing an agenda. In an ironic twist, some of those same critics took the AI-generated pictures at face value, amplifying the hoax.
This episode underscores a growing problem: the ease with which AI-generated content can be mistaken for reality, especially when it aligns with pre-existing beliefs. A similar phenomenon occurred earlier this year when phony AI images of former President Donald Trump being arrested went viral, prompting warnings from fact-checkers and social media platforms.
For now, the Christian Patriots group has not issued a correction, and the original posts remain visible, though flagged by Facebook. The incident serves as a reminder that in the age of generative AI, seeing is no longer believing.
