German police¹ is using ChatGPT to fake images of injured police officers.

After a soccer match with believable hooligan violence against police officers, the German union of police officers (GdP) rightly condemns violence against police officers.

However, instead of using real footage for their press release² of the actual violence that was actually committed, they used some AI-generated fake image and denoted that fact only with a teeny-tiny note in the corner, saying "AI-generated: ChatGPT".

I find this very problematic.

The news report mentioned several injured police officers, some badly injured, and the fake image shows an officer bleeding from his forehead. I have no way to know if any officer was actually bleeding from his head or if this is an exaggeration to make a point. In a time when politicians call for ever more surveillance and ever more power for police officers, this can function as dangerous misinformation.

Especially considering that the Nazis are growing ever stronger and our so-called democratic political parties are building a police state for them. Manufacturing consent using fake images of violence against police officers is dangerous.

Although this was a soccer match, not an anti-genocide protest, and soccer matches occasionally attract violent hooligans, protests are almost always peaceful. At least until the police starts the violence and beats up anyone who protests against fossil fuels or genocide. If we allow police to use AI-generated images in their press releases, then we cannot believe them anything anymore at all. If people still believe them, anyway.

Condemning violence only when it hits them is also hypocritical.

Police is already instigating and inciting against imagined "violent radical leftists", even before/without the use of AI fakes.

The GdP isn't innocent. Just two months ago when the modern NSDAP wanted to start their Hitler Youth equivalent and people peacefully blocked the roads, whereafter the police played taxi for officially recognized Nazis, the GdP said "the radical leftists showed their ugly face and violence".

It's inacceptable for the police to fake images of violence against police.

¹ Sachsen, not even the infamous Berlin police
² https://www.gdp.de/sachsen/de/stories/2026/01/gewalt-im-fussballspiel-magdeburg-gegen-dresden

@davidculley "Since we didn't have any actual injured officers, we had to fake some."

@wakame @davidculley

No idea why they posted an AI generated photo, but there were still a lot of injured officers.

https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/regional/sachsenanhalt/ausschreitungen-magdeburg-102.html

64 Polizisten bei Zweitligaspiel in Magdeburg verletzt

<strong>Die Polizei ermittelt nach dem Hochrisikospiel in der zweiten Fußball-Bundesliga zwischen dem 1.FC Magdeburg und Dynamo Dresden. Dabei geht es um Gewalt sowohl in als auch außerhalb der Arena.</strong>

tagesschau.de

@simonriley
If that's the point they wanted to draw attention to, then they should've used actual images from the actual event.

All they've achieved instead is shifting the focus to the utterly unnecessary use of AI, and the untrustworthiness of their institution.

I care infinitely more about that than the 64 injured officers.

@wakame @davidculley