Mexico’s president blames Meta’s labeling failure for his use of a fake photo of Ryan Wedding
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday accused Meta, the parent company of Instagram, of failing to put an Artificial Intelligence tag on a fake photo of alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding that he recently used at a press conference.
Wedding is now facing trial in California after the US arrested him in Mexico, but Sheinbaum is under increasing pressure to explain the details of that arrest after conflicting statements about what happened to the Mexican government and US authorities.
During a press conference on Monday, the president revealed a photo from the wedding’s Instagram account of him standing in front of the US Embassy in Mexico City, saying he had committed there. CBC news analysis found that the image was created by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The photo was posted on an Instagram account claiming to be linked to Marriage, a former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder in 2002. A CBC News investigation previously revealed that the account had posted AI-generated wedding photos.
Sheinbaum faced questions about the use of a fake photo of the reporter, who spoke to CBC News, during a Tuesday morning press conference.
Mexico’s president said Meta failed to call the image artificial.
“All social networks have a policy that if there is an image or any information that uses artificial intelligence … there must be the letters IA or AI, depending on whether it is in English or Spanish. In this case, it does not have any indication that it is artificial intelligence,” said Sheinbaum.
He noted that there is no Meta label stating that the image uses AI, which he says is what the company’s policy on social media indicates should happen.
Olympic snowboarder-turned-suspect drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges during his first court appearance in Santa Ana, California, while uncertainty surrounds whether Wedding was eventually arrested by police.
Meta says it aims to label the content the AI is able to find on its platforms. But the company says that “not all AI content contains the information needed to be seenstrengthen it,” according to its policy description of AI content labeling on Instagram.
The Meta did not respond promptly to a request for comment.
The account is provided with a photo of a modified ID card
CBC News double-checked the @bossryanw Instagram account for proof of its connection to the real Wedding.
When CBC News reached out, a person on the Instagram account requested contact via the encrypted messaging app Threema, which was used for the wedding. But when CBC asked, the user did not provide physical evidence that the accounts were linked to Marriage.
On Monday, CBC News received a message from a Threema account, claiming to be owned by Myriam Castillo, Mshado’s wife.
The message said there have been generous offers from other media organizations seeking an exclusive interview with Castillo.
The account also sent CBC News a partial photo of a Mexican ID card with Castillo’s name on it.
The CBC’s visual investigation unit reviewed the image and found evidence of AI production or other manipulation. The image and name on the card appear to be higher resolution than the rest of the image, which is compressed and of lower quality.
Mexico faces scrutiny over arrest details
At Monday’s news conference Sheinbaum used the @bossryanw Instagram account, which has removed all but one photo of an AI-generated Wedding standing in front of the US embassy in Mexico City, to bolster the government’s claim that he surrendered to US authorities at the embassy.
Sheinbaum read a message published with the fake photo, saying that the wedding went to the US embassy “on her foot.”
The couple is currently facing 17 charges in federal court in California, including conspiracy to sell cocaine, furtherance of a criminal enterprise, murder in furtherance of a criminal enterprise and drug crimes and retaliation against a witness, victim or informant for total murder.
The Mexican government is facing a backlash at home over statements made by FBI director Kash Patel and a lawyer for Marriage, suggesting the native of Thunder Bay, Ont., was caught up in a trip involving U.S. agents on Mexican soil.
The revelation is a potentially politically explosive revelation for Sheinbaum’s administration, which has insisted that the US is not allowed to conduct ground operations in the country.
Anthony Colombo, the attorney for the marriage, on Monday called Sheinbaum that the marriage had been given “spin” and that his client was “arrested” in Mexico. Colombo compared marriage concerns in Mexico to the US mission that kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“One can understand why [Mexico’s] the statement may have been omitted. Because if the US government goes into a private country and arrests someone, you can understand the concern that the ruling party might have,” Colombo said.
Anthony Colombo, Ryan Wedding’s lawyer, told the media that his client was arrested and did not surrender to the authorities, contrary to reports. “Any imputation by the Mexican government on this, that it contributed, is not true,” he said.
News of umaluju from the US: Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum on Tuesday reiterated the position that Marriage is committed, but changed slightly.
The Mexican president said this belief was based on information provided to his government by the US
“U.S. authorities have told Mexican authorities that someone has volunteered,” Sheinbaum said.
“Now, how exactly did he surrender? Well, we don’t know the details. All we know is what the United States authorities here told the Mexican authorities.”
He referred to a post on X in English and Spanish by the US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson, who said the “surrender” of the marriage was “a direct result of the pressure applied” by Mexican and US law enforcement.
When asked by reporters about the discrepancy between his government’s position and Patel’s and Colombo’s statements, Sheinbaum stiffened.
“Why do they make statements like this? After all, it’s something they have to comment on,” she said. “We don’t want this to turn into an argument. We always tell the truth. We have no reason to lie.”
Pressed by reporters about whether the US might have hidden its work hosting the wedding in Mexico, Sheinbaum said he doubted that would happen.
“They should let us know what they are doing in Mexico,” he said.
“We’re telling the truth, that’s what they told us.”
