People are swooning over an Army woman named Jessica Foster who was seen posing with an F-22 Raptor, dressed in camouflage in desert settings, and even appearing alongside Donald Trump. People are going gaga over the woman, but the reality is different. Experts said there was no public record of Foster’s military service and that the account, despite not being labelled AI, contained many indicators that she was fake. Between many of her pro-Trump posts, Foster also prominently displayed her feet, Washington Post reported.Foster’s viral rise highlighted what researchers described as a growing strategy to win online attention, with right-wing accounts mixing patriotism and soft-core pornography using fake women and convincing imagery to attract viewers, monetise interest and score political points.Accounts showing AI-generated women posing as Trump-supporting soldiers, truckers and police officers built large audiences on TikTok, Instagram and X, where thousands of commenters posted responses suggesting they believed the women were real.A similar pattern played out in recent weeks beyond the United States, with hundreds of AI-generated videos showing Iranian female soldiers and pilots cheering on the nation’s military spreading online, as the BBC first reported. One sign they were fake was that Iran bans women from combat roles.Sam Gregory, executive director of Witness, a video-advocacy group that researches deepfakes, said Foster exemplified how deceptive AI video generators can be. He said AI advances made it easier to create a consistent fake character across multiple photos or videos and place the character next to real public figures, making it appear the character was central to real events.By applying political trappings and current events to these characters’ fake lives, their creators probably hoped to maximise virality and stand out online, Gregory said. He said that once creators gained attention, they could, as in Foster’s case, direct users to a paid platform where they were asked to pay for more explicit scenes.Foster is “the apotheosis of what MAGA fantasizes about, all packed into one channel, but it’s obviously AI: There’s no provenance to the images, no history around her, visible glitches,” he said. “There’s any number of real and unreal beautiful women online, but having one that’s so proximate to power, around the big events of the day, has a different cachet.”The person running the Foster account did not respond to requests for comment. After The Washington Post sought comment, the account on Wednesday posted a new photo showing Foster cruising aboard a military vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.An Army spokeswoman said officials could find no records of Foster. The White House and Meta, which owns Instagram, did not respond to requests for comment.Foster’s first video, posted on Thanksgiving, showed the blue-eyed woman sitting beneath an American flag in a tight shirt and included a caption asking for comments from every “straight guy that likes a American army girl.”In this AI-generated image, the fictional Foster is seen with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AI-generated image obtained by The Washington Post)In this AI-generated photo, Foster is seen with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (AI-generated image obtained by The Washington Post)More than 50 photos and videos followed in the months since, showing meetings with first lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and football star Lionel Messi. Between those moments, Foster made bawdy jokes, gave speeches and joined her female comrades for pillow fights.“Best job in the world,” said a caption with a video last month showing Foster in a helmet and a tactical vest.The posts were described as outlandish, and details in the imagery provided clues, including insignia on her combat and service uniforms that suggested a muddled mix of qualifications, indicating she was either a staff sergeant, a Ranger school graduate or a one-star general.In one photo, she was depicted giving a speech to the “Border of Peace Conference,” described as a bungled version of Trump’s new Board of Peace. In another, she was shown holding a captive Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s former president, and her uniform listed her first name where it should list her last.Thousands of users still posted in her comment sections. Referring to Foster, Silicon Valley investor Justine Moore of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz said in an X post, “I’m genuinely floored by how many dudes are following influencers that are clearly AI.”Foster’s posts received more than 100,000 comments, many from accounts with men in their profile photos. Some users called her out as AI, while many celebrated her looks, sent her heart-eyes emojis or cheered her on.The verified Instagram account of a Brazilian transportation official liked most of her photos and told Foster she was “linda,” or beautiful. Another user asked, “Why do you NEVER reply?” The accounts did not respond to requests for comment.Foster’s Instagram, which included galleries titled “training,” “U.S.,” and “dailyarmy,” originally linked to an account on OnlyFans, a subscription marketplace popular with porn creators. An OnlyFans spokesperson said the account was removed for breaking rules requiring all creators to be verified human adults.In this AI-generated image, Foster is seen in Greenland with two other fake soldiers. (AI-generated image obtained by The Washington Post)Foster later linked viewers to an account on Fanvue, a smaller OnlyFans competitor that allows AI models and labels them as “generated or enhanced.”Her account there, “jessicanextdoor,” listed its location as Fort Bragg, the military base in North Carolina that is home to the Army’s Special Operations Command, and described Foster as a “public servant by day, troublemaker by night??.”The report described the approach as a sales-funnel technique used by influencers to convert free viewers into paying customers for more explicit content. Fanvue declined to share information about the account, which invited viewers to subscribe for “special stuff.”“Btw i respond to every message but be patient since i am not a robot,” the account said, with a winky-face emoji. Within days of its creation, the account received more than 10,000 likes.The report said deception online did not require AI. It cited cases where real women had their photos taken and used to distribute political messaging they did not endorse, including a 2023 case in which a Trump supporter was warped into a left-wing “rage bait” account, and a 2024 case in which European influencers were made to appear as MAGA supporters.Joan Donovan, an assistant professor at Boston University who studies media manipulation, said AI helped such accounts multiply because they were easy to create, endlessly customisable and offered a clear path to making money. She said the political sheen also helped ensure the images appeared in people’s news feeds.Donovan said the biggest risk was that the strategy could be transformed into information warfare, with anonymously run accounts deployed as a “bot army” to distribute propaganda, disinformation or wartime talking points at scale.“The danger of this is that we’re moving toward a society of the unreal,” Donovan said. “It’s one way to get political messaging across, and it’s effective. We don’t even know if selling feet pics is Jessica Foster’s final form.”

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday lauded Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami‘s leadership abilities, calling him “Dhurandhar Dhami.”Addressing a public gathering here on the completion of four years of the Uttarakhand government, the Defence Minister expressed pride and confidence in the government led by CM Dhami and attributed the state’s growth to him. “This gathering has been organised to mark the completion of Pushkar Dhami’s four-year tenure. During the elections, I had told him that the BJP would win under his leadership, and the BJP achieved a clear majority. I had said in a meeting once, ‘Our Dhami is not ordinary, he is Dhakad Dhami… now, he should be called Dhurandhar Dhami. Uttarakhand has secured a leading position in the country across several sectors,” he said. Singh also reminisced about his tenure as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, during which the state of Uttarakhand was formed. “The land of Uttarakhand is the land of the Gods (Devbhoomi). I also served as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for 10-12 days. It was during my tenure as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh that Uttarakhand was created. Uttarakhand is a land of faith, spirituality, culture, and sages; it is revered as a place of penance,” the Defence Minister said. Furthermore, the Defence Minister reflected on ongoing tensions in West Asia and said that the Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi-led government aims to resolve it through “dialogue and diplomacy.”“Today, the entire world is passing through a period of crisis. This is a matter of concern not just for India, but for the whole world. Even today, our Prime Minister has said that the solution to war will not come through war itself, but through dialogue and diplomacy. A solution to this global problem must be found through conversation and diplomatic efforts,” he said. He further lauded the PM’s efforts in handling a potential energy or fertiliser crisis, which he said could have emerged due to the conflict. “Given the current global crisis, it is possible that, like other countries, we too could have faced an energy or fertilizer crisis. However, through his charismatic wisdom and foresight, our Prime Minister has so far prevented India from getting trapped in this crisis. The efforts being made by our Prime Minister to resolve this crisis at a global level should be supported by Uttarakhand as well.”“Our Prime Minister has held India’s head high in the world in a charismatic manner. Today, when India speaks on international platforms, the world listens with rapt attention,” he added.

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP-ruled central government over falling rupee and called it “clear signs” that inflation was inevitable. He criticised the Centre’s “empty rhetoric” as the country faces economic restrain due to LPG shortage amid West Asia crisis. He claimed that petrol, diesel, and LPG prices would be hiked after state elections.“The rupee weakening against the dollar and heading towards 100, coupled with a sharp rise in industrial fuel prices—these aren’t just numbers; they’re clear signs of the inflation to come,” Rahul said in a post on X.“The government may call it “normal”, but the reality is: Production and transport will get more expensive; MSMEs will be hit the hardest; the prices of everyday items will go up; FII money will flow out even faster, putting more pressure on the share market” he added.“In other words, it’s bound to have a direct and profound impact on every family’s pocket. And it’s only a matter of time—after the elections, the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG will be hiked too. The Modi government has neither direction nor strategy—just empty rhetoric. The question isn’t what the government is saying—it’s what’s left on your plate,” he said.Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal added to the concerns and said that Iran’s retaliation would destroy India’s economy “because we are dependent on gas, LPG, and crude oil from there, and it will take years to restore these resources…” “The whole argument that is sought to be made is that we are reliant on the US for our trade… But the fact of the matter is, no trade can perish, and no manufacturing can take place in the country without energy. Where does our energy come from? It comes from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz… What leverage will we be left with if our energy resources are depleted… I request the government and the PM that this is not the time to remain silent. Iran’s retaliation for petroleum and gas resources in the Gulf will ultimately destroy our economy because we are dependent on gas, LPG, and crude oil from there, and it will take years to restore these resources,” he said.The rupee plunged to a record low of 93.71 on Friday, tumbling 108 paise from its previous close of 92.63, its steepest single-day fall in four years. The sharp decline comes amid growing concerns that oil prices could remain above $100 for an extended period, as the widening West Asia conflict increasingly targets key energy infrastructure in the region.