You may have seen some AI artistic renditions of Donald Trump’s arrest floating about on Twitter last night. While, sadly, the reality is that Trump has yet to be arrested, the pictures did give a good interpretation of what it would be like if it ever did happen, some even believing that they were real. If you’re wondering who to thank for these glorious images, look no further than Eliot Higgins, British journalist and founder of the company Bellingcat.
Bellingcat is an investigative journalist group that focuses on fact-checking and reporting honestly on worldwide events. The group aims to attract international attention to events and activities that the media often shies away from, and their journalists will do a deep investigation, often going into active war zones or infiltrating human trafficking rings to provide their findings.
Higgins himself was a citizen journalist and blogger before he founded Bellingcat. He began by blogging about the Syrian Civil War in 2012, covering the weapons being used in the conflict. It seems Bellingcat is the natural evolution of Higgins’ work. Of course, quality journalism and fact-checking are Trump’s number one enemy, so it makes sense that the journalist would take some digs at the former president.
Twitter users have been collectively chuckling at the depictions of Trump’s arrest. Higgins told a pretty hectic but somewhat epic story and Twitter users were brought along for the ride, dubbed The Trumpshank Redemption.
Act One: Trump is apprehended by police amidst protests that he himself encouraged.
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 20, 2023
Act Two: Trump has been preparing for the day the liberals finally come for him, after a little warm-up, he escapes, Prison Break style.
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 21, 2023
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 21, 2023
Act Three: His bold escape has left him weak. After a healthy Big Mac and 20-piece nugget box, Trump’s back on the road, fleeing into the night never to be seen again.
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 21, 2023
The hilarious images mean that eyes quickly turned to Higgins and his group of journalists after the viral stunt. They’ve definitely had a positive impact as people are now paying attention to Bellingcat, although there’s a certain irony in fake images leading people to a group that puts fact-checking and truth at the forefront of its objective.
The pictures of Trump naturally set some right-wingers off, who decided to make their opinions heard, as they are well known to do. Although the Bellingcat founder didn’t seem too bothered by any of it. (He’s probably used to it, as we all are by now).
Unfortunately, the AI app that allows users to create such images, Midjourney V5, decided to ban Higgins for some reason, so that was the end of The Trumpshank Redemption. Higgins continues to share articles from the Bellingcat website after the disappointment of yesterday. Meanwhile, we can only hope that Trump will face actual consequences in the not-too-distant future.