this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2024
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A viral photo of a guy smoking in McDonald's is completely fake — and of course made by AI::Look at the fingers. You always have to look at the fingers

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[–] [email protected] 179 points 5 months ago (6 children)

Am I the only one that's seeing this pic for the first time?

[–] [email protected] 82 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Same. Not sure why it would go viral.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Exactly my thought. Looks pretty boring and not something I would consider sharing even if it was a single button push.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

Yeah, and 5 years ago, this would have at least been a somewhat interesting slice-of-life picture. Now it's just bullshit. This could just as well be Mozart smoking a fat one at a McCleopatra's in feudal China. It would be just as a meaningful.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 5 months ago (3 children)

It didn’t go viral. The article said it went viral to make a viral.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

I hope so. My question is, why is this pic allegedly going viral?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

I spend an embarrassingly stupid amount of time on the internet.

Every time I see an article describing something as "viral", it's almost always the first time I'm hearing about it. (Also, coincidentally often the last time)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

It was posted in some community on Lemmy. I saw it in my feed but don't remember where.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

“Viral” is completely meaningless now.

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[–] [email protected] 63 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Or the sign at the top.

"MODLIDANI"

[–] [email protected] 43 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (6 children)

Or the fact that he's apparently cut the chest out of his t-shirt, while his vest doesn't wrap around the back of his torso.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 months ago (1 children)

As someone who grew up in a white trash landfill, that's probably the least suspicious thing

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I was thinking that. The first time I saw this I didn't look closely and thought "yes, this is pretty much how I remember it, except I'd be scared that guy was going to ash out his cigarette in my burger and slap me on the back of the head as he leaves because he's probably one of my cousins".

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

This is 100% accurate.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I only learned it was fake today, from this post. I mean, I see all the little details now, but before I just assumed someone found an old picture of their dad and wanted some internet points. There's part of me that sees the humor in gettin got, but it's a nervous laugh for how easily I got got. Near future's gonna be wild

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It was the fashion at the time /s

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Right... at the time...

Puts down scissors and undershirt

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

I think that's pretty bad ass actually.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago

And drinking a refreshing Ç̷̧̡̢̧̧̙͓̮̮͖͎̱̤̳̙̺͍̺̜͇̠̯̗̼̯͍̖͈̝͎͙͓̦̞̝͙̺̼̗̘̲̙̮̺̪̹̪̗͓͍̳̲̼͈̖͗͑̾̈́̓̀͗̈́͜͜͝͝ͅͅơ̸̧̡̢̧̢̨̛̛̛̙̟̦͓̜̯̖̬̩̙͚̭͚̱͓̫͖̙̮̪̗̜̗̻̬͖̝̖͉̩̻̺͇̲̩̦͍͚̝̐̾͆̾̃̓́͋͑̀͑́̆̌̒͂̍̎̊̂̓̆̔̀͗̉̄̍̒̎́̒͊͛͌̑̒̽̿̇̀̅̊̄͆̊̈̿̀̂̓̈́͌͛̃͑͑͊̚̚̚̕͜͝͝͝͝͝ͅk̶̢̨̢̛̛̛̮̻͕̱͙̰̬̟͕̝̪̮̥͎̪̻͇̣̼͚͍̲̪͙̗̹̱̺̆͑͐̈́͛̏̽͐̿́̈́͗̽̏̔̋͊̀̅̽́̀̿̓̉͐͊͊̐̍̆̎̍̀͒̋̈́̔̿̔́͑̽̔́͛̾̂͑̈́̔̈́͌̍̈̄͛̍͐͐̈́̃͌̄̋̈́́̌̓̉̇̿̀̀̚̚͘̚͜͜͜͜͠͝͠ę̶̡̛͚͓̲̼͈̭͚̙̼͕̮̙̫̖͓̜̣͕̠̞̫̗͙̥͚̣̣̲̫̜̟͔̯̫̩̼̤̅͒̌̍̑̀̇͂̄͗̀̊̄̅̔̔͗̂̾̉̓̐͗̋͗͊̀̏̇͛̊̏̃̌͌́̈͋̑̒͒̈͌̈́͑̂̈͋̎̑̓̊̀́̐̚̚͜͝͠͝͝͠͝a̸̢̡̢̧̧̤̜̰̠̩̯͙͔̖̳̳̩̘̥͙͙̙̬̦̺̗̝͛́̍̓̇́̀͆͑͜ć̴̡̨̧̛̖̱̥̙̳͓̤̻̑͐̅̑̏̐͊͒̾̎́͗̋̎̈́͐̌̇̓͆̓̒͐̔̄́̂̊͑̒̉͑͑͂́͛͋͒̊͋̓̓̀͂͒̎͋͋̎̽́͋̀̏͒̒̿̒̽̂̔̂̀̅͂̋͐̋̈̀̿̿́̍̕̚͝͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͠ơ̸̢̨̨̢̲͚̤͖͇̦̯͓͍̤͈̹̖̞͕̗̬̮͔͚͙͎̩̣͓̹͎͚͈̖̚͜l̴̨̢̧̡̢̢̢̡̨̢̧̛̺̳̭̘͙̬͙͖̬̲̠͔͈͎͇̠̼̘̗̭̤̥̖̭̻͎̱͈͓̲̺̬̫̤̻̙̮̬̯̻͖͇͔̹̩̟̰̣͙̫͎̤͔̼̩͙̬̖̟̪̤͇̟̫̭̳͙͈͇̮̞͕̰̮̙̪̳̟͈̿́͌̀̄̽͗̄̄̆͑̔͊̈̊͌̄͒͋̎̓͐͂̀͛̊͊̐͂̀̽̒̂̊̔̆̏̌̍͛̾̉̽̑̾̋̅͛̌̆̎͛͑̉͑̕̕̕̚͜͠͝͠å̸̧̧̨̨̛̛̛͍̖̗̲͙̝̜̲̪͖̟̬̱̜̜͚̳̻͉͎̪̩͎͈̟̻̫̟͖̲̤̜̥̮̝̗̳͖͕̻̞̙̳̤͚̹̳͍̭͔̤̼͍̬̼̌̒̔͂̈͆̆͒͂͌̄͗̌̆̉̀̉̽́͂̔̆͂̽̌̈́̏́̿͋͂̎́͛̑͛̐͗̋̑̀̃̀̇̎͛̊̇̆͊̏͗͂̋̒̎͛͆̅͑̀̿̎̉͊͑̍̚̚͘̕͘͘͜͠͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅ

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago (2 children)

That was the second thing I saw. The first was the weird fries box with a straw, heh

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

At least that looks like letters. Check out the Coca-Cola cup.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I guess nobody much tried to see if it was fake or not because it was mundane enough to not matter and believable enough because there was a million people like this guy smoking in McDonald's in the 80's. My great grandma was a chain smoker. Literally all the time. I remembe going to McDonald's for lunch in the 80's and sitting there eating while she chews and smokes at the same time.

So there was no reason to suspect or care about it being a real pic.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Looking at the photo knowing it is AI generated, I can definitely see all of the imperfections, however for someone who is just scrolling looking at stuff and not really paying attention, it's easily passable. And I think that's a huge problem, especially with Sora being a thing, you won't be able to believe anything you see on the internet ever again.

I'd even take it further and I'd bet that there are going to be movies made in the future that will brag about how they didn't use AI in the production. This shit is wild

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's a nail in the coffin to know the world wide webs golden age won't have a resurgence and that you'll no longer be able to believe or trust anything you watch, read, or hear, pretty soon.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 5 months ago (7 children)

Lets see:

  • Straw in the fries container
  • Chest hair growing thru his shirt
  • "Cocacola" text on the mug
  • His hands and those hamburgers
  • MODLIDANI sign on the wall
  • The heck is that white hat on that dude on the background
[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

You’ve never heard of the fishing hat that dreamed of being a baseball hat?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago
  • exposed chest hair with t-shirt
  • straw in fries
  • hat
  • Smoking inside restaurant

You blame AI, but that's just the 80s.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 5 months ago (3 children)

AI or not, this looks unnervingly accurate enough to be one of my uncles in the 80s, including the open chest denim vest sewn onto a tshirt. The 80s was wild, kids.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (2 children)

AI generated or not, I distinctly remember the brown glass ashtrays as McDonalds when I was growing up, so it definitely was allowed.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

You had some fancy-ass McDonald's in your area then. Ours has those flimsy tin/aluminum ashtrays.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Most places near me still have what obviously were smoking sections.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago

This is technically another jean meme

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (2 children)

As much as this is a fake image, I wish this man was me

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

Don't let your dreams be dreams. I believe in you.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Born too late to smoke in McDonald's 😔

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Looknat them fingers! When the coca cola logo looks like a CAPTCHA test and the guy is eating food off the table

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago

I like how the french fries got a drinking straw

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I mean it’s super obviously AI generated, what with the yellow fry box with white sides, and red coke cup with gibberish on it. He has a second white cup behind his hands seemingly floating in mid-air, and his hands are together holding… nothing. There’s a sign in the background that seems to say “Modlidawi” instead of “McDonald’s”

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

And he’s also wearing a t shirt which apparently doesn’t have a chest since you can see this dudes naked chest.

Lots of inconsistencies in the photo. AI doesn’t do a very good job. If you look hard enough you’ll see shit that makes zero real world sense.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Article: "If you take a closer look at the photo..."

Buddy, you don't even have to look that close. The hat of the dude in the background draws your eye immediately, quickly followed by the fries and all the shit going on on that table.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

The average person has exactly zero skill at looking at picture details, it's a thing you develop as an artist and then need to consciously break by flipping the image, tilting your head etc. to look at the whole composition again.

The average artist also won't notice when a cow's horns are above their ears (instead of above in front) because they haven't seen a reference cow in ages, and never specialised in drawing (or whatever) cows. The average person without artistic eye does not even have the impulse to zoom in on that kind of thing and literally won't see the little brown hat you put there, you'd have to make it pink for them to ever notice.

Honestly, I don't see anything really wrong with that hat. The back rim looks a bit strange but that might just be because it's a strange hat, and I'm certainly not fashion-conscious enough to spot that it's an anachronism.

The hands and writing are clearly messed up and pretty much the first thing you should have a look at when figuring out whether something is AI. If this wasn't a "photograph" though but an illustration you might also look at a shitty or lazy human artist in many cases. In this case there's a dead AI giveaway as humans would never make that kind of mistake: The shirt. T-shirt sleeves but bare chest? How does that work? Shirt and vest and chest are painted very well, the AI did a good job at the details, thing is it doesn't understand how garments actually work and that the combination of details doesn't make sense.

Or, in short: (current) AIs are quite good at overall composition and lighting, may or may not have their issues with smaller details depending on the detail, and have lots of trouble enforcing consistency on details that aren't directly adjacent to each other. You'll also see things like e.g. the lines of a dunno column being discontinuous at the spots where it moves from background to invisible (because foreground before it).

Many models have gotten quite good at hands (especially SDXL), unless you're trying to do something complicated with fingers grasping into each other and stuff it'll probably get it right. But the list of these things is endless, you'll e.g. see PC keyboards with seven rows of keys. So look at what you know you know (and I don't know jackshit about hat fashion), and check it.


On another note: It's good that the people putting out those kinds of fakes seem to have zero artistic skill. Without AI, with good ole photo manipulation by an actual artist, spotting a fake could be close to impossible. Generating flawless photographs with current AI is also a crapshoot, you'll end up sifting through a gazillion of possibilities, illustrations are way easier because you can explain things away by "yeah it doesn't need to be accurate in that detail, just give off the right impression". If you want a convincing fake you'll still need an actual artist manipulating actual pixels to fix up the AI mistakes.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

mcdonalds? the sign clearly says "modlidani"

fingers? try the coca cola logo...

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (4 children)

But I can tell you in the 80s, I smoked in McDo, enjoying my Royale, with a beer :)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This is the most French comment of all time

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I'm going to need to see a version with everything in denim to make sure.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This is like that episode of Rick and Morty.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

That cigarette and McDonalds French fry smell is etched on my brain.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Halloween outfit inspiration material.

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