A Michigan Senate hopeful found himself the subject of widespread mockery online after an AI-enhanced image featuring him with an exaggeratedly muscular build went viral.
The image surfaced on social media this past Tuesday, shared by Abby Ronson, a former GOP congressional aide and current associate for a vendor linked to candidate Mike Rogers’s campaign.
Rogers, who served as a U.S. Representative for Michigan from 2001 to 2015, boasts an impressive background as an Army veteran and former FBI special agent with experience in combating organized crime and corruption in Chicago, according to his campaign website.
Ronson posted the photo, which shows the candidate with biceps and pecs bulging through his shirt, on X with the caption, ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Michigan’s next Senator, @MikeRogersForMI !!! LET’S GET TO WORK.’
A disclaimer accompanying the post clarified that the image was “Made with AI.” The original photograph, captured by David Guralnick, a photographer for The Detroit News, was taken during a 2024 Fourth of July parade, where Rogers appeared with a more rounded physique.
Despite the buzz, the AI-generated image was not featured on any of Rogers’s personal or official campaign social media accounts. However, those accounts did seize the opportunity, sharing memes that played off the attention the image garnered.
The altered photo also drew ridicule from political adversaries, including Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow, who is currently serving in Michigan’s state legislature.
‘This is gender affirming care,’ McMorrow wrote on X in a post that included a side-by-side of the original photo and the AI-altered version. Gender affirming care is medical and psychological treatment for transgender people.
Mike Rogers, a US Senate candidate from Michigan, became the subject of a flurry of memes after a woman posted an AI-altered photo of him looking buff. He is pictured with a supporter
This AI-altered photo posted by former GOP congressional aide Abby Ronson went viral
Democratic Michigan candidate for US Senate Mallory McMorrow mocked the AI-altered image in a post of her own. She currently serves in the Michigan state legislature
McMorrow’s post mocking the altered image of Rogers called it ‘gender affirming care,’ which is medical and psychological treatment for transgender people
The campaign account for another Michigan Democratic candidate for US Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, likewise mocked the AI picture with a post that said: ‘computa make this guy look more like Abdul El-Sayed.’
El-Sayed has posted videos of himself working out and is naturally buff.
Rogers’s campaign X account, Mike Rogers War Room, shot back by mocking El-Sayed’s height.
The account posted an AI-altered photo of Rogers and El-Sayed meeting, with the Democrat standing on a step stool to be the same height as the Republican. ‘Computa remove the step stool,’ the caption said.
The ‘War Room’ account also posted several AI-generated videos making light of the situation. One showed Rogers in an FBI vest fist-fighting the Hulk.
Another video showed Rogers leaping into a wrestling ring before holding up a gold WWE champion belt. ‘Sign him, @TripleH,’ the caption said, referencing Paul Michael Levesque, the COO and executive producer for WWE.
‘Put me in coach,’ Rogers replied to the tweet on his own X account.
Yet another video showed Rogers with superpowers, flying up to a tree branch to retrieve a cat, lifting cars off the ground and stopping a building from falling before overlooking a city skyline with his arms crossed.
Abdul El-Sayed, another Michigan Democratic candidate for the US Senate, also mocked the altered image. He is pictured in a video he posted of himself working out
El-Sayed’s campaign account said that the altered image was trying to make Rogers look more like the Democratic candidate
Rogers’s campaign account shot back by mocking El-Sayed’s height in comparison to Rogers
The AI-altered image also inspired similar tongue-in-cheek posts from other politicians around the country.
Democratic Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz posted an AI photo portraying himself as extremely tall and buff with the caption: ‘I don’t see the issue.’
Democratic Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Schlossberg and Democratic State Senator Matt Lesser also posted similar AI-altered images of themselves looking super buff.
The altered image also inspired plenty of memes from regular users on social media.
Some posted Rogers sporting a larger frame, while others shared AI-altered images of him as a woman. Others shared snaps of him looking even more buff with a six-pack outline visible through his shirt.
Ronson, the woman whose post kicked off all the memes and AI photos, works for the campaign video firm Convergence Media. She is also a former staffer for Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Convergence Media has charged Rogers’s campaign around $620,000 so far this campaign cycle for consulting, production and ad placements, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by The Detroit News.
Democratic Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz joined in on the flurry of memes with this AI-generated photo of himself looking super tall and buff
Rogers’s campaign account posted several AI-generated videos capitalizing on the attention. This video shows the Republican candidate with super powers
Another video by the campaign account showed Rogers holding up a gold WWE champion belt
A spokesperson for Rogers’s campaign, Alyssa Brouillet, confirmed to the outlet that Ronson is not a staffer for Rogers.
She added, ‘Mike doesn’t need AI to frame-mog his opponents,’ which is Gen-Z internet slang for making another person look smaller or weaker in comparison to one’s more muscular frame.
