WaPo fact-checks Mitch McConnell hospital photo featuring paper — with definitive findings

WASHINGTON — Conspiracy theorists have been hit with a fact-check for sowing doubt about whether a proof-of-life photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell released on Sunday was real.

The Washington Post, in a fact-check written by one of its interns, verified that the photo of McConnell (R-Ky.) was authentic — after social media users speculated it was generated using artificial intelligence.

Using metadata from the original photo that it received from McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office and consulting a digital forensics expert, the outlet concluded that the image was real and had been taken on Sunday.

“An independent digital forensics expert also said there appeared to be no evidence that the image is fake,” the outlet wrote, pointing to an assessment by Hany Farid, a digital forensics professor at the University of California.

Farid concluded that McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, don’t have any distortions that would raise suspicions about AI, and that the lighting in the room is “plausible,” according to the outlet.

In the photo, McConnell was holding a copy of the Washington Post’s sports section, which the paper confirmed was indeed from its July 12 edition.

Speculation about McConnell had long swirled since his sudden rush to the hospital on June 14. Dispatcher audio indicated that he likely had some sort of cardiac event, but McConnell appeared to deny that was the case.

“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” the Kentucky sage said in a statement released by his office.

Instead, he claimed to have fallen and briefly gone unconscious for reasons that are still unclear to his medical team. Then he was treated for a “mild case of pneumonia” and entered a rehabilitation center.

The Kentucky senator’s medical team also found that his post-polio condition was likely a significant factor in his fall. McConnell contracted polio at the age of 2, and his upper left leg has suffered from paralysis ever since.

Before McConnell’s office posted the proof-of-life photo and released a statement, his team had been guarded about his condition.

McConnell’s spokesperson announced the hospitalization to the public when it happened, but refrained from providing key details until Sunday. That led to wild rumors flying around.

For example, right-wing pundit Laura Loomer claimed that McConnell was brain-dead and then alleged that the proof-of-life photo of him was AI-generated.

During that time, several allies of McConnell, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and his former adviser, Scott Jennings, claimed to have had phone calls with him. But that did little to persuade the internet.

McConnell’s team released the photo and statement after the shocking death of late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Saturday from heart issues.