Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) gave a speech Wednesday on the Senate floor expressing both his intention to help starve the Department of Homeland Security of funds and his outrage over anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement agitator Alex Pretti's fatal shooting on Saturday by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent.
When discussing Pretti's demise, Durbin relied on a large visual aid — a supposed photograph of the incident.
However the Democratic senator appears to have overlooked glaring indications that the image was significantly doctored. For starters, one of the federal agents depicted in the image appears to be missing his head.
'AI enhancement tends to hallucinate details.'
"I'm going to show a photo of that scene, which is graphic, but I'm afraid is necessary to appreciate the horror of the moment," Durbin said as he set the image for all to see on an easel. "This photo shows the last second before the ICE agent killed Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis."
After citing the image as evidence that it was "obvious" Pretti had made "no effort to resist" — a claim contradicted by footage taken from multiple vantages — and emphasizing that "the photo tells the story," Durbin criticized the Trump administration for encouraging skepticism about the initial narrative surrounding the shooting.
"What was the Trump administration's immediate response when they heard of this second killing in Minneapolis? Not to bring down the temperature but instead to rush to the American people with one message: 'Don't believe your eyes. Don't believe what you see,'" said Durbin, pointing at the image, which is apparently an AI interpretation of a blurry still from footage taken of the incident.
There are numerous other signs of AI "hallucinations" in the image used by Durbin besides the absence of one agent's head.
There are, for instance, confusing shadows; a seemingly impossible configuration of fingers on Pretti's right hand; an unnatural bend in one of the legs of the headless agent kneeling next to Pretti; and a fantastical weapon in the possession of the agent depicted behind Pretti.
Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information, told the Agence France Press, "The issue with these images is that the AI enhancement tends to hallucinate details."
According to IBM, "AI hallucination is a phenomenon where, in a large language model (LLM) often a generative AI chatbot or computer vision tool, perceives patterns or objects that are nonexistent or imperceptible to human observers, creating outputs that are nonsensical or altogether inaccurate."
Peter Adams, senior vice president of research and design at the News Literacy Project, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that such AI-generated images "are an example of how synthetic visuals can spread confusion and further divide Americans about important issues."
Durbin was evidently not the only liberal duped by the image.
In fact, it went viral on multiple social media platforms, including X, where it netted tens of millions of impressions and was shared widely. Even retired Gen. Raymond Thomas III, the former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and MSNBC legal analyst Jill Wine-Banks appear to have been fooled by it.
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House Republicans passed a government funding bill late Wednesday night, bringing Democrats' record-breaking shutdown closer to a welcome end.
The continuing resolution passed in a 222-209 vote, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 209 Democrats voting against the funding bill. Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida, voted against the bill.
'Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price.'
Several Democrats also crossed the aisle, with a handful voting in favor of reopening the government. Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is retiring at the end of this term, bucked his party, alongside Reps. Adam Gray of California, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Tom Suozzi of New York.
The resolution is now headed to President Donald Trump's desk, where he is expected to sign the bill into law Wednesday night and reopen the government.
The House vote took place just days after eight Democrat senators caved over the weekend and voted alongside Republicans to pass the funding bill in the Senate Monday night. These Democrats include Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
Although some lawmakers crossed the aisle to reopen the government, Democrats ultimately failed to secure commitments from Republicans to negotiate health care policy.
"For over six weeks, Democrats held our country hostage over demands for health care for illegal aliens and to prove to their base they could 'stand up' to President Trump," Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (Texas) told Blaze News.
"Let me be clear: Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price," Pfluger added. "Now, it is time to get back to governing and delivering on the mandate we were given by the American people last November."
RELATED: Senate Republicans pass key deal with Democrat defectors as end to record-long shutdown draws near
The reason Democrats shut down the government in the first place was to force the GOP to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats fell short, securing only a commitment from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies. Notably, this offer was available to Democrats on day one of the government shutdown.
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The Senate Republicans officially passed their funding bill to reopen the government Monday night, with the help of Democrat defectors. The legislation is now in the House, where members are expected to vote to finally reopen the government sometime Wednesday.
Over 40 days into the record-long government shutdown, eight Senate Democrats voted to pass the same clean continuing resolution that has been on the table since day one. The funding bill was passed in a 60-40 vote, with Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada voting with 52 Republicans to reopen the government.
House Democrats are already whipping members to vote against reopening the government.
With just enough Democrats defecting to pass the GOP resolution, many of their fellow Democrats expressed disapproval for the "pathetic" deal they negotiated.
The main reason Democrats shut down the government in the first place was to force Republicans' hand on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year. One record-breaking shutdown later, all Democrats have to show for it is a pinky promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) that there will be a floor vote on the subsidies, which was offered to Democrats on day one of the shutdown.
RELATED: 'Pathetic' Senate Democrats cave, advancing key shutdown vote and prompting intraparty uproar: 'It’s a surrender'
Republicans offered Democrats one minor concession Sunday night ahead of the filibuster vote: to reverse some firings made via reduction-in-force notices. Republicans agreed to reverse all RIFs issued during the shutdown and to refrain from issuing any more until the continuing resolution expires on January 30.
In total, this deal affects only about 4,200 employees of the roughly 150,000 federal workers who have been laid off since President Donald Trump began his second term in January.
RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures
The bill is now headed over to the House, where votes are expected to resume Wednesday afternoon after the House has been out of session for over 50 days. During a Monday press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly urged all members to return to Washington, D.C., as soon as possible to begin voting.
House Democrats are already whipping members to vote against reopening the government, arguing that the continuing resolution "fails to address" their health care concerns. Despite their ongoing opposition, the funding bill needs only a simple majority and is expected to pass the House.
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Over a month into the record-breaking shutdown, enough Senate Democrats finally caved to advance a key vote, sparking outrage within the party.
Eight Senate Democrats broke from their party late Sunday night to break the filibuster in a 60-40 vote, advancing key legislation and putting the government back on track to reopen after a record 41-day stalemate. The Senate is expected to formally pass the legislation Monday, when the continuing resolution will be punted back to the House.
'America deserves better.'
Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire joined Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto, who have consistently voted to reopen the government for the last six weeks. Notably, only Shaheen and Durbin are up for re-election in 2026, and both are retiring.
Although these other rogue Democrats are electorally safe for the next several years, many of their colleagues have ridiculed them for bucking the party and cutting a deal with Republicans.
RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures
After 15 failed votes to reopen the government, Democrats folded and finally came to the negotiating table. Party negotiators walked away with a continuing resolution to fund the government through January 30 featuring a reversal on reduction-in-force notices issued after October 1 and also barring future RIFs from being issued through the duration of the CR.
While Republicans made concessions on RIFs, Democrats ultimately were unable to push through any meaningful policy goals and fell short on their call to extend Obamacare subsidies. In response, high-profile Democrats tore into their Senate colleagues for caving, calling it a "surrender."
"Pathetic," California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office said in a post on X. "This isn’t a deal. It’s a surrender. Don’t bend the knee!"
"America deserves better," Newsom added in another post on X.
RELATED: Senate Republicans betray Trump, help Democrats try to block tariffs
It's not just rumored presidential hopefuls who took a stand against their Democrat Senate allies. Many of the eight defectors' colleagues came out against their vote, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
"There's no way to sugarcoat what happened tonight," Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in a post on X. "And my fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence. I'm angry — like you. But I choose to keep fighting."
"To my mind, this was a very, very bad vote," independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said in a post on X.
"Just on Tuesday, we had an election, all over this country. And what the election showed is that the American people want us to stand up to Trumpism. ... That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened."
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Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson used an AI-generated image of Alex Pretti’s death in which a federal immigration agent is missing his head during a Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday. Thompson is the same man who chaired the Jan. 6 Committee, which was also caught fabricating “evidence.” While Thompson was chiding Department of Homeland Security […]
Multiculturalism has created a rigid standard of moral relativism that insists every culture is equal, no matter how it may violate the most basic principles of liberty or life.
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