Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social that he had urged Iran to spare the lives of eight women facing execution, sharing a collage of their portraits.
The images were immediately questioned as AI-generated, with critics calling the appeal baseless.
Iranian state media outlet Mizan rejected Trump’s claim, stating the women had not been sentenced to death and some had already been released.
Mizan said Tehran had made no concessions and that the status of the women remained unchanged.
Six of the women in the collage are real activists
Mahsa Alimardani of WITNESS confirmed that six women in the collage are genuine protesters from January demonstrations.
Bita Hemmati, pictured in the top right, received a death sentence from Tehran’s Revolutionary Court Branch 26 for alleged ties to hostile U.S. Groups.
The other five verified women — Mahboubeh Shabani, Venus Hossein-Nejad, Golnaz Naraghi, Diana Taherabadi and Ghazal Ghalandri — participated in protests but were not reported to have received death sentences.
The identities of the remaining two women, said to be Panah Movahedi and Ensieh Nejati, could not be verified.
Iranian embassy account amplified skepticism with its own AI-generated collage
The Iranian embassy’s X account in South Africa mocked Trump by posting a counter-collage of eight women, some of which were AI-generated.
This same account previously shared misleading content that contributed to controversy involving South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
Israeli officials have labeled the account a known source of disinformation.
Why did Trump share the collage?
Trump posted the collage the night before his Truth Social appeal, citing it as evidence of imminent executions.
What did Iran say about the women’s legal status?
Iranian authorities stated that some women had been released, others faced prison time but not execution, and no death sentences were being carried out.
