Montel Williams: Fake Image Controversy Sparks Political Outrage

Donald Trump, no stranger to recklessly sharing fake images on social media, reposted a doctored image falsely showing Kamala Harris with Sean “Diddy” Combs that questioned whether she attended the rapper’s “freak offs,” where federal prosecutors allege he forced victims to perform sex acts for extended periods of time. The now-deleted post on Truth Social used an image from 2001 of the Democratic nominee with Montel Williams, whom she was dating at the time, and his daughter. Combs’ head was superimposed onto Williams’ face, and the text on the image asked if Harris had “been involved with or engaged in” Combs’ alleged “freak offs.”

Combs, who has denied wrongdoing in a slew of sexual assault and sexual misconduct lawsuits in recent months, was arrested on Monday and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Among other distressing allegations in the federal indictment, Combs is accused of forcing victims to engage in sex acts with male commercial sex workers, which he recorded, for hours or days on end. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

As NBC News pointed out, both Trump and Harris have interacted with Combs in the past. Both have also previously praised him publicly; Harris lauded the rapper for hosting a town hall on how the coronavirus impacted Black communities in 2020, and in 2012 Trump called Combs a “good guy” and “a good friend of mine.” Fake images, and especially AI-generated images, have flooded social media in this election. Many of these images contain disinformation about one candidate or the other.

Trump has embraced that content in recent months, sharing AI-generated images on social media that he later claimed no responsibility for, even as he’s accused the Harris campaign of “cheating” and using photos of crowds he says are faked (they are not). His attempt to associate his election rival with one of the more appalling allegations that federal prosecutors have leveled against Combs is the latest example of his embrace of false information on social media. Harris’ campaign declined to comment on Trump’s repost. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.