Pro-gov media use AI to convert Chinese rescue worker to Islam

A fake picture circulating on social media falsely depicting a member of the Chinese rescue team as having converted to Islam found its place in pro-government media, even in the state-run TV.

Using fake images created with artificial intelligence, Islamist media in Turkey claimed that Jun Cang, who came to Malatya from China for search and rescue work after the earthquake, had converted to Islam and renamed himself "Yusuf."

This claim was "confirmed" with two photos of Jun Cang, one purportedly showing him holding a Koran and another showing him in the mosque with a group of children.

Fake news said that Jun Cang had found the Koran under the rubble. After his contact with other Turkish rescue workers, he decided to convert to Islam.

However, if you look at the pictures used for Jun Cang, you can easily see that the elements are the product of artificial intelligence. None of the faces in the photos look real. Even the limbs don't look the way they should. Moreover, any text on the images is unreadable.

The fake news was spread by pro-government newspapers such as Yeni Safak, Sabah, and Turkiye, as well as state-owned TRT Haber and Diyanet TV. TRT removed the content after opposition media made fun of the news.