--- title: "AI Has Unlocked a Level of Facebook Pandering Previously Unknown to Science" description: "We found the one piece of AI-generated Facebook sludge to rule them all — and it has one giant boot and a birthday wish." date: "2024-07-03" modified: "2024-07-03" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-facebook-pandering" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "ai-generated content" - "facebook" - "the digest" --- # AI Has Unlocked a Level of Facebook Pandering Previously Unknown to Science ![We found the one piece of AI-generated Facebook sludge to rule them all — and it has one giant boot and a birthday wish.]() *\Image: Babies Adorable (AI generated)\* We found it, you guys. We found the one piece of AI-generated Facebook sludge to rule them all. As you've probably already read about or seen in the digital wild, Meta's flagship platform and former namesake Facebook is drowning in a fast-rising tide of AI-generate garbage. Spammers, ever eager to churn and burn through content, have [taken to generative AI]() as a means of creating cheap and easily automatable virality-seeking imagery. And because this is Facebook, these fake images tend to center on themes and motifs that do well with the Boomer crowd that populates the platform: babies and kids, dogs, Jesus, pretty much anything America-coded — flags, bald eagles, cops, and so on — and [US soldiers and veterans](). Which brings us to our Ultimate Pandering Sludge image, which falls into that last category. Published June 29 by an account simply titled "Babies adorable," the AI-spun image consists of a faceless figure in full Army garb, tactical vest and helmet included. Crucially, the figure is seated in a wheelchair — a hallmark of many of these spammy fake images, which often specifically depict disabled veterans — and is outfitted with two metal prosthetic legs. Both of these prosthetics, however, inexplicably extend into one *giant*, magnificent boot. Why? Who's to say! And like many of the other fake AI veterans being shared to Facebook, the soldier is holding a sympathy-clawing sign — although, we should note, it's pretty garbled. "TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY," reads the character's plea. "NO NO ONE LODE ME'S BECAUSE I'M POOR." (This seems to have been a bad AI attempt to generate the text "NO ONE LOVES ME BECAUSE I'M POOR," a [phrase depicted]() in [several other]() AI posts.) Just incredible stuff. And overall, the image feels like an acute exhibit of the ways AI spammers are transforming Facebook into a parody of itself. After all, it has all of the makings of a more conventional, AI-free viral Facebook post: military personnel, conspiracy-coded dose of Americana, and a beg for a like or a share. Lensed through AI, however, the resulting output is distorted and exaggerated — sort of like Facebook, in the age of AI, is now just wearing a Facebook costume, massive single boot and all. ![]() We'd also be remiss not to say a few words about the figure's surroundings, which reads like a [conspiracy hive Batcave](). (A prominent flag in the background also doesn't quite have 50 stars, but at this point, that's neither here nor there.) And in somewhat of a [Count Rugen-esque]() twist, the alleged soldier only has four gloved fingers on their visible right hand. The account "Babies adorable" is loaded with AI spam ranging from a [Ripped Bald Eagle with Arms]() to an ["Innocent" Dad Making Wooden Roses]() to many, *many* more images of soldiers and veterans with prosthetics. And while a lot of these images are undeniably funny in their perverse, clownish glory, the comments sections rarely fail to offer a sobering glimpse into the reality that some Facebook scrollers aren't quite getting the joke. "Thanks for your services," one Facebooker [replied]() to an AI image of a similar single-booted "veteran." "Please don't vote," another user wrote back. **More on Facebook and AI:** [*Facebook Page Uses AI-Generated Image of Disabled Veteran to Farm Engagement*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()