On Wednesday, President Donald Trump claimed to have secured the release of eight Iranian women condemned to execution for protesting against the regime. However, his post was quickly met with skepticism as the photos of these women were accused of being AI-generated.

The collage Trump posted is at least AI-modified, according to Mahsa Alimardani from WITNESS. The identities of six out of eight women have been confirmed, while two remain unverified. Despite the controversy, the lives of these women are real — their protests and court cases are factual.

Adding another layer of complexity, the Iranian state news agency Mizan dismissed Trump’s claims as false and blamed him for misleading the public. Meanwhile, the very account that mocked Trump has a history of spreading disinformation, including misleading South Korean President Lee Jae-myung about a video.

The case of these eight women highlights the blurry line between truth and fiction in today's digital age. As AI technology advances, so do the challenges of distinguishing reality from manipulation. Their stories, while reduced to pixels on social media, are still real human rights issues worth addressing.