An Indian medical student used artificial intelligence to create a virtual influencer, Emily Hart, who has become a star among supporters of the MAGA movement in the United States. He said he failed to fool Democratic supporters, but Trump fans were «super stupid.»
An Indian medical student used artificial intelligence to create a virtual influencer, Emily Hart, who has become a star among supporters of the MAGA movement in the United States. He said he failed to fool Democratic supporters, but Trump fans were «super stupid.»
As WIRED reports, a 22-year-old anonymous medical student with the pseudonym Sam came up with the idea of selling AI-generated images while he was looking for a way to pay for his education. He turned to Google Gemini for advice, which suggested that the conservative audience (particularly older men in the US) has high incomes and is extremely loyal.
Emily Hart posed as a registered nurse with the appearance of Jennifer Lawrence. Her profile was filled with shots of herself in patriotic attire while fishing or shooting a rifle. The posts were accompanied by radical slogans: «Christ is king, abortion is murder, and all illegals should be deported.» The account went viral, collecting millions of views and thousands of followers in a matter of weeks.
Sam monetized his fame by selling MAGA-themed merchandise and signing up for Fanvue (an AI-powered version of OnlyFans), where he posted candid photos created using xAI’s Grok AI. The student admitted to spending up to 50 minutes a day on the project, earning income that was unattainable for skilled professionals in his country.
«The MAGA audience is super stupid. And they’re going for it. I basically did nothing and the money just kept pouring in,» Sam told reporters. He also tried to create a similar profile for liberals, but the Democratic audience was more likely to recognize the AI fake and not engage.
Emily Hart’s Instagram and Facebook profiles have now been removed by Meta for fraudulent activity and violating the rules on the use of unlabeled AI. The developer himself says that he does not consider his activities to be fraudulent and now plans to focus on medicine.
Previously, researchers at the Brookings Institution warned about the growing number of fake profiles created by AI to manipulate public opinion. Experts note that young «advocates» of right-wing views attract an abnormally high amount of attention, since the majority of women under the age of 29 in the United States tend to have liberal views.
