MS NOW Broadcasts AI-Manipulated Photo of Slain Nurse Alex Pretti

A cable news network has acknowledged using an artificially manipulated image of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis intensive care nurse whose fatal shooting by federal immigration agents sparked nationwide protests.

MS NOW, formerly known as MSNBC, featured what it later described as an “AI-enhanced” photo of the 37-year-old VA nurse on its television broadcast, website, and YouTube channel. The altered image appeared during a January 26 episode of “Deadline: White House” with host Nicole Wallace, just two days after Pretti’s death.

A spokesperson for Versant Media Group, MS NOW’s parent company, told Snopes the network obtained the image from the internet without realizing it had been altered and emphasized that the network itself did not enhance the photo. The manipulated image showed a more flattering version of Pretti, who worked caring for critically ill veterans at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The shooting, which occurred on January 24, was captured on video by multiple witnesses and ignited renewed protests against immigration enforcement tactics implemented under the Trump administration. Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents on a Minneapolis street, with the incident quickly becoming a focal point for demonstrators.

By January 29, the Wikimedia Commons media-hosting website contained both authentic and inauthentic images of Pretti. The legitimate photos showed an original, undoctored image of Pretti, including one picture of his photo displayed on a wall. Both genuine images had upload dates of January 24.

In contrast, two manipulated images showing alterations to Pretti’s face and body appeared on Wikimedia Commons with upload dates of January 25 and January 26. These images’ file names included the words “AI upscaled” and contained notices indicating deletion requests. One clear sign of AI manipulation was the illegible lettering on Pretti’s scrubs in the enhanced versions, a common artifact of AI image generation.

The Internet Archive’s TV News Archive preserved the “Deadline: White House” episode showing the broadcast of the AI-enhanced image. The MS NOW YouTube channel also featured the manipulated photo in a thumbnail image for a January 26 video titled “‘Shameful period in American history’: Outrage grows in Minneapolis over Alex Pretti’s killing.”

While MS NOW has since replaced the video’s thumbnail image on YouTube and added an editor’s note acknowledging the error, the inauthentic image still appeared on the network’s website and in a syndicated version on MSN.com as of January 29. The editor’s note on YouTube clarified that the previous thumbnail featured “an AI-enhanced image of Alex Pretti.”

As of this writing, no on-air correction has been identified in Wallace’s subsequent broadcasts, and no notices have appeared on MS NOW’s public relations social media accounts.

The same AI-manipulated image has spread widely across social media and appeared in publications including the Daily Mail and International Business Times. A Texas state representative’s social media account also shared the inauthentic image.

This incident highlights growing concerns about the use of AI-enhanced imagery in news reporting and on social media, particularly in cases involving high-profile deaths that have become politically charged. Pretti’s killing has continued to generate protests, with more demonstrations planned under the “No Kings” movement as outrage spreads over the Minneapolis incident.