Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized Meta, the parent company of Instagram, for failing to indicate that a photo she used during a recent news conference was generated by Artificial Intelligence and not real. The photo depicted alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding standing in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, claiming he had surrendered there. Wedding is currently facing legal proceedings in California after being taken into custody by the U.S. from Mexico. Questions arose regarding the arrest details following conflicting statements from Mexican and U.S. authorities.
During a press briefing, Sheinbaum presented the AI-generated image from an Instagram account linked to Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder for Team Canada. She emphasized that Meta did not adhere to its social media policy by failing to label the image as AI-generated.
Meta stated its intention to label AI content on its platforms but highlighted challenges in identifying all AI-generated content. The company did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
CBC News contacted the Instagram account @bossryanw to verify its connection to Wedding, but concrete proof was not provided. The account sent a partial image of a Mexican ID card belonging to Wedding’s wife, Myriam Castillo, which CBC’s visual investigations unit found to be potentially manipulated.
Sheinbaum’s use of the @bossryanw Instagram account to support the claim that Wedding surrendered at the U.S. embassy sparked further scrutiny. Wedding is facing multiple charges in a U.S. federal court, including drug-related offenses and murder.
The Mexican government’s assertion that Wedding surrendered has been challenged by FBI director Kash Patel and Wedding’s lawyer, Anthony Colombo, who claimed Wedding was apprehended in Mexico. Sheinbaum reiterated that Wedding surrendered, based on information from U.S. authorities.
Despite discrepancies in statements, Sheinbaum maintained her position and emphasized transparency. She expressed doubts about the U.S. concealing operations in Mexico and stressed the importance of truthfulness in the matter.
