Allegations have surfaced that Eric Trump, son of former US President Donald Trump, sought insider information on recent Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts held at the White House. Screenshots posted on UFC commentator Daniel Cormier's X account before being deleted appear to show messages from an account under Trump's name enquiring about potential fight rigging.
The purported messages included questions such as: "Anything you can tell me about the fighters tomorrow? Who you got winning?" followed by a money emoji. Additionally, the messages inquired about the likelihood of fights being rigged, referencing specific fighter Diego Lopes. Cormier's initial accompanying caption expressed strong disapproval of "insider behaviour" within the sport.
Eric Trump swiftly dismissed the allegations on X: "This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel." He further elaborated in another post that the screenshots were AI-generated and urged users to be cautious with reporting. Cormier also echoed this sentiment, posting "Are people really this dumb?" and later telling a spectator in person that the screenshots were not real, attributing their presence to hacking.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization, Kimberly Benza, backed up the denial, stating the screenshots as "fake" and "fabricated". She highlighted the dangers of AI-generated content spreading misinformation when verification is overlooked. The White House UFC event had already faced scrutiny over one fighter's participation in a false conspiracy theory.
The high-profile guest list at the White House UFC event included tech figures Mark Zuckerberg, David Ellison, Kris Marszalek and members of the Trump family. This incident underscores growing concerns about digital content authenticity and AI's potential to create convincing yet entirely false narratives.