What was claimed
A photo shows hay bales and tractors in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Our verdict
This photo has been created using artificial intelligence (AI). It was created by an “AI artist” and does not depict real events.
Image of hay bales and tractors by the Eiffel Tower is AI-generated
6 February 2024
A photo showing hay bales and tractors in front of the Eiffel Tower has been circulating on social media. But the image is not real and has been created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Several people have shared the photo with captions suggesting it’s genuine, including “Action in Paris! Don’t mess with their farmers”, and “Destined to be an historic iconic photo”.
This comes amid nationwide protests by French farmers against the increasing cost of farm diesel, rising bureaucracy and competition from imports, among other issues.
However, the photo originally comes from a series of AI images posted to Instagram showing hay bales, grass and livestock at various locations in Pairs, including on the Metro, and at the Louvre Museum, Sacré-Coeur and Arc de Triomphe.
The caption says: “If only Paris could hear the echoes of our countryside.”
It adds: “Disclaimer: This series was generated by AI on Midjourney. To prevent any « Fake news » related to the above photos, please specify when sharing that these are not real but AI-generated images.”
The account describes itself as an “AI artist” and has shared other AI-generated images including seals on the Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty wearing a wedding dress and veil.
While tractors blocked major roads leading to Paris on 29 January, in what some dubbed the ‘siege of Paris’, there have been no reports of the tractors piling hay on streets surrounding the Eiffel Tower.
Full Fact has written about other false claims that footage shows tractors digging up these major roads en route to Paris, but that actually shows a supermarket car park hundreds of miles from the capital.
This is not the first time we’ve seen AI images being shared as if they’re genuine, including photos of President Macron in front of burning rubbish and Pope Francis addressing crowds in Lisbon, as well as videos supposedly showing Sir Keir Starmer and BBC presenters promoting an investment scheme.
You can read more about how to identify AI-generated images and videos in our guides.
Image courtesy of Luc Legay
