Trump posts fake video of Obama in jail, declares ‘treason' and ‘crime of the century' in AI-driven blitz
Donald Trump
on Monday(July 21) shared an AI-generated video depicting former President
Barack Obama
being arrested by the FBI in the Oval Office, reigniting a polarizing political narrative and raising urgent questions about deepfakes and election disinformation.
Posted to Truth Social, the video opens with real clips of Obama stating, 'Especially the President is above the law,' a statement that is quickly contrasted with other Democratic leaders, including
Joe Biden
, Hillary Clinton, and
Kamala Harris
, all of whom are shown saying, 'No one is above the law.'
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The video then transitions into an entirely fabricated AI sequence showing FBI agents storming into the White House, placing Obama in handcuffs, and ending with the former president clad in an orange jumpsuit inside a jail cell.
Tulsi Gabbard's accusations
The release comes just days after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard delivered a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, accusing Obama-era officials of orchestrating a 'treasonous conspiracy' during the 2016 election.
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According to Gabbard, 114 pages of declassified, redacted emails indicate Obama's national security team 'manipulated intelligence assessments' to fabricate the narrative of Russian interference aiding Trump's victory. She alleges that this operation was intended to 'subvert the will of the American people.'
'No matter how powerful, every person involved must be prosecuted,' Gabbard wrote on X. 'We are turning over all documents to DOJ for immediate action.'
Trump responded by praising Gabbard, calling her findings 'irrefutable proof' and labeling Obama the 'ringleader' behind what he dubbed 'the crime of the century.'
Obama's guilty of treason
During an Oval Office press conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, Trump pointed directly at his predecessor:
'If you read the papers, Obama started it. He orchestrated it. Biden, Comey, Clapper, Brennan, they were all in the room. This was treason,' Trump declared. 'Barack Hussein Obama, have you heard of him? Guilty. It's not a question anymore.'
"They tried to rig the election, and they got caught. Then they rigged the election in 2020. I knew I won that election by a landslide. I did it for the third time and won by a huge margin. Every swing state was won by votes. But I won just the same in 2020. And look at the damage that was done," the US president said.
The president added that 'thousands' of additional documents would soon be released, allegedly supporting his claims.
Legal experts, however, note that no formal charges have been filed against Obama, nor has the DOJ confirmed any active investigation into the former president.
The AI video quickly went viral, with 'Arrest Obama' trending on X and public debate erupting over the ethical limits of synthetic media in politics. Media watchdogs and fact-checkers were quick to label the video as manipulated content, warning of its potential to shape public opinion dangerously.
'This deepfake is
political disinformation
at its worst,' said Nina Jankowicz, disinformation analyst and former executive director of the US Disinformation Governance Board. 'It erodes public trust, damages reputations, and poses serious threats to democratic stability.'
Platforms like Meta, X, and YouTube have pledged to flag or remove synthetic content that misleads voters, but enforcement remains inconsistent.
Despite Trump's insistence on guilt, legal scholars across the board confirm that no charges have been brought against Barack Obama, and the material cited by Gabbard has yet to undergo public or legal vetting.
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