Is Mitch McConnell alive?
You’d think it would not be so terribly difficult to ascertain the continued existence of one of the most powerful people in American politics. However, McConnell’s prolonged, unexplained absence from the U.S. Senate followed by reluctant and less-than-transparent press releases about the senator’s health have fueled widespread conspiracy theories by those on both the Left and the Right that the 84-year-old is either dead or permanently incapacitated.
This saga begins on June 14, when McConnell’s spokesperson told reporters McConnell had been “admitted to the hospital this morning” and was “receiving excellent care.” Audio from an EMS dispatch call to McConnell’s residence reveals a dispatcher calls for an “ALS” or advanced cardiac life support response, suggesting the need for CPR and other life-saving measures.
The following day, Senate leader John Thune initially denied having spoken directly with McConnell but later said the two had spoken, telling reporters “He sounded good.” Thune assured reporters McConnell was “clearly dialed in on what’s going on” and he was hopeful McConnell would “be back this week.”
“You’d think it would not be so terribly difficult to ascertain the continued existence of one of the most powerful people in American politics.”
A week later, on June 22, McConnell’s office crushed that hope, saying while the senator was “working closely with staff” he would not be returning to the chamber before its summer recess from June 27 to July 12.
On July 1, after the release of the EMS dispatch audio heightened concerns of McConnell’s health and returned him to the news cycle, McConnell’s office released a statement that the senator “continues to improve,” but offered no indication of the senator’s status or location. This persistent lack of transparency led to statements by a few different political figures saying they’d spoken with McConnell.
Most notably, on July 8, CNN pundit and former McConnell staffer Scott Jennings posted that he had “spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell” and “talked for just shy of 20 minutes.” Many found this statement unconvincing, with the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican group, replying, “Notice he didn’t mention how” with an attached image of a Ouija board. Thousands of folks piled on, including prominent political figures, and soon a whole meme-based conspiracy theory was born.
Over the next few days, the memes turned into a real bipartisan political concern. Andy Beshear, the Democratic governor of McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, sent a letter to McConnell’s office requesting a formal update. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace posted that “This charade can’t continue,” calling for McConnell to either provide a transparent health update or resign.
Photo released by McConnell’s office.
McConnell’s camp remained silent until the sudden and unexpected death of McConnell’s fellow senator, Lindsey Graham. On July 12, McConnell’s team released a message from McConnell claiming his hospitalization was from a fall, followed by a minor case of pneumonia. Accompanying the message was a statement from the Congressional Office of the Attending Physician claiming the senator had only “minor injuries” and his continued hospitalization was part of an “intensive physical therapy program.”
What received the most press, however, was the photo.
The proof-of-life photo
Attached to the letter across McConnell’s social media was a photo of the senator beside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. In his right hand and partially off-screen, a healthy-looking McConnell awkwardly holds a copy of the July 12 edition of the Washington Post. It was meant to be proof of life. His critics were not convinced, as the internet soon became awash with claims the photo was AI-generated or photoshopped.
Grok, Elon Musk’s self-proclaimed “maximally truth-seeking” chatbot, added fuel to the fire by affirming the photo was AI-generated. Responding to an X.com user who had tagged it to ask if the photo was genuine, Grok replied, “This photo is AI-generated, not genuine, and was not shared by McConnell or his office.” It further claimed that that “OpenAI’s verifier detected SynthID watermarks” indicating AI generation. Another user claimed the photo wasn’t AI, but an old photo that was “widely shared” in April 2023. Asked for verification, Grok confirmed this was an old photo: “No updates or new shots — just the old image recirculated.”
However, forensic analysts who studied the photo found no signs of AI generation. Grok’s verifications are false on the surface. The photo was shared directly from McConnell’s office on verified social media accounts, and I was able to independently verify that OpenAI’s verification tool did not detect SynthID watermarks.
Second photo released by McConnell’s office
A second photo published July 27, accompanied by an update that McConnell had been discharged from the hospital into a rehabilitation facility, has similarly been called into question. Jeff Yang, a long-time friend of members of McConnell’s wife’s family, suggested the photo was not genuine based on Chao’s clothing choices. Even if the photo is genuine, critics have begun to wonder why a second very similar photo is all the McConnell camp will release.
The AI trust problem
The fact that so many people on both sides of the political spectrum immediately questioned the photo’s legitimacy shows we are being trained — rightfully so — to question the veracity of photorealistic images. All it takes is access to a computer and a well-crafted text prompt — perhaps with an image for reference — and you can create photorealistic images that are plausibly genuine at face value.
“We have moved from an assumption that photorealistic imagery is real to an assumption that it is fake.”
A recent study on AI-generated images backs this up.
Psychologists from the UK and Israel performed an experiment where they collected photographs of 100 internationally famous celebrities and prompted ChatGPT to use those photos as reference images to generate synthetic images of the celebrities at a red carpet event. These synthetic images were mixed with genuine images and shown to research participants. Participants were able to correctly identify AI-generated imagery with only 32% accuracy. Overall, the study concluded: “Across our experiments, we demonstrated that an ‘off the shelf’ AI tool (ChatGPT plus DALL·E) can generate photorealistic images of real, familiar individuals which human observers cannot distinguish from genuine photos.”
We live in this time where we are aware synthetic photorealistic images can fool us. We are being told not to trust images we see online or take them at face value. We have moved from an assumption that photorealistic imagery is real to an assumption that it is fake — especially when it involves our political leaders.
The politics of distrust
While McConnell has not been at the forefront of AI usage, he is on record as opposing the ban of artificial intelligence to create deceptive content about politicians. Speaking against the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, McConnell claimed the bill was “overly censorious” and “could wind up barring all manner of photos and videos.” This defense of AI for potentially deceptive political purposes ties aligns directly with the present situation. While McConnell’s team did not use AI to fake a recovery, every message from the Republican Party is that they certainly would.
“In a representative democracy, people deserve to know whether or not their leaders are capable of leading.”
The Trump administration has created an environment of distrust. Whether through the now decade-old claim of “Fake News!,” the downplaying of reality during the COVID pandemic by insisting it was a hoax, or by the White House’s more recent embrace of AI-generated imagery, Trump and his movement have taught us — perhaps rightfully — to be suspicious of truth claims made by those in power.
McConnell and his team know this. They must be fully aware of the environment they’ve helped create. Their refusal to provide independently verified information regarding McConnell’s health and instead providing only carefully curated, easily faked and highly doubted public communications has only had the effect of creating a controversy they can refute while obfuscating the controversy’s root: Is Mitch McConnell capable of performing his duties as senator?
In a representative democracy, people deserve to know whether or not their leaders are capable of leading. It would be astoundingly simple to offer evidence of this capability. Pod Save America co-host and former Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer mused, “The fact that (McConnell) won’t talk to a reporter or even do a video is pretty telling.”
That McConnell and his team are not offering a solution undermines trust in our government and public institutions. When the public no longer can tell the difference between authentic evidence and manufactured reality, transparency is no longer just good politics — it is a democratic obligation.
Josh Olds
Josh Olds is a public theologian and pastor for those disillusioned with institutional church. He is the creator of the small-group video series “Year on the Mountaintop” and a featured contributor to Fostering Hope: A Prayerbook for Fostering and Adoptive Parents. Follow his work on Facebook or at JoshOlds.com.
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