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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
The videos of Trump working in a shoe factory and Americans working in textile shops emerge amid the escalating US-China trade war, with Chinese social media mocking Trump’s tariff hikes
Claim: A video shows US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been serving as Trump’s senior advisor, working in a shoe factory.
Rating: SATIRE
Why we fact-checked this: The TikTok video containing the claim has 86,100 views, 1,481 likes, 853 shares, and 130 comments as of writing.
The caption in the video states: “Make American factory great again!”
Similar AI-generated videos have also been circulating on TikTok, including one showing average Americans looking downcast as they work in a textile factory.
The facts: The videos were generated using artificial intelligence (AI) to mock Trump’s tariff policies. Comments on the videos showed users poking fun at the videos, with one stating, “Great. Our leaders are demonstrating by example. It shows how great our president and vice president are. Long live Donald Trump! Long live Vance! We [are] strongly behind you.”
Another commenter wrote: “See, people! America is becoming great again — the land of opportunity! Donald kept his promise.”
According to an analysis by the AI detection tool Sight Engine, the images in the TikTok post were 99% likely to be AI-generated, specifically identifying a 99% likelihood of generative AI use and an 11% likelihood of face manipulation.
Tariff tensions: These AI-driven visuals come amid rising geopolitical and economic turmoil as Trump’s sweeping tariff plans shook global markets, particularly targeting the world’s No. 2 economy, China. With Trump’s latest tariff hike on Chinese imports reaching 145%, China retaliated by imposing a 125% tariff on US goods, exacerbating a volatile trade war that has already sparked fears of a broader geopolitical crisis.
In response, Chinese social media has erupted with AI-generated memes mocking American figures like Trump and Musk, satirizing the economic impact of the tariffs.
The viral memes, often accompanied by sarcastic slogans like “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) and set to Chinese music, have been amplified by Chinese government officials. Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted a meme showing the price of MAGA hats rising due to US-imposed tariffs. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US, reinforced Mao’s post by sharing a meme of MAGA hats spiking in price by over 100%, which he claims was first shared by a user on the Chinese social media platform Rednote.
Trade war: Analysts warn that escalating tariffs could fuel inflation and trigger job losses as companies struggle to survive the deepening US-China trade war. With the two nations accounting for 43% of the global economy, experts also caution that a full-blown conflict could stall global growth, flood markets with surplus Chinese goods, and destabilize local industries worldwide. – Marjuice Destinado/Rappler.com
Marjuice Destinado is a Rappler intern. She is also a fact-checker and researcher-writer at Explained PH. A third-year political science student at Cebu Normal University (CNU), she serves as the feature editor of Ang Suga, CNU’s official student publication.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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