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Baby on the way? Not so fast, says TLC personality Whitney Way Thore.
On Sunday, the My Big Fat Fabulous Life star took to Instagram to debunk a rumor that she was pregnant. The source of the report was an AI-generated photo that’s been making the rounds on social media, which shows Whitney holding an ultrasound image.
Whitney Way Thore says fake AI baby photo is ‘scary’
On the most recent season of MBFFL, Whitney opened up about her journey to possibly becoming a single mother by choice, researching sperm donors and ultimately undergoing artificial insemination. So perhaps it’s understandable that some of her fans were taken in by the fake photo of her supposed ultrasound.
“I hate to even acknowledge this, but after thousands of messages, comments, and real-life inquiries…This first image is AI-generated,” Whitney wrote in her October 5 post, where she shared the photo of her sitting in a gym and holding an ultrasound image.
The baby announcement photo “was made from the second image, which I posted in January and is real,” she explained, referring to a photo of herself posing with a basketball while sitting on a bench.
“I don’t know who made the AI image or why they posted it everywhere claiming I was pregnant,” Whitney continued. “To me, the first image is obviously fake when I look at the ultrasound or zoom in on my fingers — but it is scary because at first glance, just looking at my body and face, I might also question if this was a real photo.”
‘My Big Fat Fabulous’ life star has a ‘gentle reminder’ for her fans
After debunking the baby rumor, Whitney went on to offer a “gentle reminder” to people that not everything they see online is real and that “internet use (and life) requires critical thinking.”
The body positivity activist added that people supposedly sharing inside information about her life online were likely liars.
“Anyone writing about / dehumanizing me on a ‘fan page’ or forum is literally just as much a stranger to me as you are,” she wrote. “I can promise you that no one who is in my real life is writing about me on the internet, but hundreds of people are mentally ill enough to claim otherwise.”
Finally, she pointed out pregnancy speculation can be extremely painful for women who have been unable to conceive.
“It’s kind of wild to harass a woman with PCOS and fertility issues about whether she’s pregnant or not on a public forum,” she wrote. “If and when I’m ready to share, I will.”
Despite Whitney’s lengthy explanation about the fake photos, some of her followers still displayed their lack of reading comprehension. Multiple people commented on the post congratulating her on her pregnancy, much to the frustration of some of her other fans.
“It’s crazy how many people can’t read a simple post,” one wrote.
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