A fake U.S. Army soldier named Jessica Foster, whose images were likely generated by artificial intelligence, amassed over one million followers on Instagram before the account was taken down. The account, which portrayed Foster as a blonde soldier supporting President Donald Trump's 'America First' agenda, duped many MAGA supporters into believing she was real.
According to The Washington Post, the account gained popularity over four months, with posts showing Foster in heels on a warship, posing with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and speaking at a 'Board of Peace' event. Many comments, predominantly from male users, praised her beauty and pro-Trump message, with some pictures receiving over 30,000 'likes'.
The U.S. Army confirmed to the Post that there is no record of a soldier named Jessica Foster. Experts warned that the account exemplifies how AI can be used to spread propaganda and lure users to paid platforms. The account was linked to an OnlyFans page, which was removed for lack of verification.
Sam Gregory of the video-advocacy group Witness described Foster as 'the apotheosis of what MAGA fantasizes about,' noting visible glitches in the images. Joan Donovan of Boston University said such accounts move society toward 'the unreal,' while former Rep. Adam Kinzinger called the situation 'insane' and criticized those who fell for the AI-generated content.
