Deepfake Video of Trump Proposing Dinosaurs for Border Patrol Fools Viewers

A deepfake video featuring former U.S. President Donald Trump proposing the use of velociraptors and pterodactyls for border patrol went viral, accumulating over 1.2 million views and 20,000 likes. The clip, uploaded to X and clearly labeled as a deepfake, depicted Trump in the Oval Office suggesting that the Department of Homeland Security could deploy these prehistoric creatures to secure the southern border.

The video, which was created by Maverick Alexander, host of the storytelling comedy podcast DarbyCast, featured Trump discussing the potential of using genetically engineered dinosaurs for border security. The clip mentioned Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based genetic engineering company that claimed to have resurrected the dire wolf in April, sparking speculation about the possibility of bringing back other extinct species, including dinosaurs.

Despite the video being labeled as a deepfake, many viewers found it convincing enough to question its authenticity. Some users turned to Grok, the native AI assistant on X, which concluded that the clip was "almost certainly AI-generated" but stopped short of definitively calling it fake. The assistant noted that no credible sources or official records confirmed such a statement from Trump, whose actual border policies focus on walls and enforcement rather than fantastical scenarios.

The increasing sophistication of AI video clip generators, such as Google Veo 3, OpenAI’s Sora, and Kling AI, has made it increasingly difficult to distinguish between synthetic and real content. This has led to situations where even the most outlandish clips can fool viewers, as seen with the Trump deepfake video. The clip's plausibility, despite its absurdity, highlights the growing challenge of verifying the authenticity of digital content in the age of advanced AI.

Maverick Alexander, who created the viral video, noted that the deepfake's success was due to its accurate portrayal of Trump's voice and word choice. He suggested that he might continue making similar deepfakes, given their popularity and the difficulty in distinguishing them from real content. The incident underscores the need for greater vigilance and critical thinking when consuming digital media, as the line between reality and fiction becomes increasingly blurred.