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In recent months, a viral image purporting to show an official architectural rendering of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom expansion has been widely circulated across social media platforms, garnering millions of views. However, an investigation reveals the image is entirely fabricated.
The controversial image depicts an oversized, off-color structure extending directly from the main White House building and completely dwarfing the iconic presidential residence. Since work began on demolishing parts of the White House East Wing in October 2025 to make way for the ballroom, the supposed rendering has gained renewed attention on platforms including Threads, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Multiple social media users have shared the image with claims that it represents the official design for the expansion project, which President Trump announced in July 2025. The alleged rendering shows a massive structure that appears dramatically out of proportion with the historic White House.
Fact-checking reveals the image is not a legitimate architectural rendering but rather an AI-generated creation. It does not appear on any official White House pages dedicated to the ballroom expansion project. Neither does it appear on the website of McCrery Architects, the firm handling the project, nor on the sites of Clark Construction or AECOM, the companies responsible for construction and engineering aspects of the expansion.
The earliest traceable instance of the image comes from an August 1 post on Threads by user Frances Mercanti-Anthony, who explicitly stated that she had “asked ChatGPT to add a 90,000 square foot ballroom on to the 55,000 square foot White House.” This origin clearly identifies the image as an artificial intelligence creation rather than an official architectural proposal.
Several telling inaccuracies in the image further confirm its fabricated nature. According to official White House statements, the planned ballroom will be approximately 90,000 square feet and “substantially separated” from the main White House building as an expansion to the East Wing. The East Wing is located on the right side of the White House when viewed from the National Mall direction—the perspective shown in the AI image.
However, the structure in the viral image appears on the left side of the main building, where the West Wing is located, and is directly attached to the main structure rather than being “substantially separated” as officially described. These discrepancies further confirm the rendering is not authentic.
For context, the main White House building itself contains approximately 55,000 square feet of floor space, according to the White House Historical Association. This means the proposed ballroom would be significantly larger than the current residence—a fact that has contributed to public interest and speculation about the project.
In September 2025, CBS News published what it described as new, legitimate renderings of the proposed ballroom. While these official renderings do show a structure larger than the main White House building, they also depict some distance between the ballroom and the historic residence, consistent with the “substantially separated” description in White House statements.
The circulation of this fake rendering highlights ongoing public interest and controversy surrounding the White House expansion project. It also demonstrates how quickly misinformation can spread during politically charged moments, particularly when AI-generated imagery becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic architectural renderings.
As construction on the project continues, the White House has maintained dedicated web pages with official information about the ballroom expansion, which remains a significant modification to one of America’s most recognizable buildings and historic landmarks.
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10 Comments
If this ‘expansion’ is true, it would be a concerning waste of taxpayer money. The White House should be focused on more pressing issues, not vanity projects. I hope this turns out to be just another unfounded rumor.
Wow, that’s quite the proposed addition to the White House. While I’m open to renovations, that rendering just looks ridiculous. I doubt the administration would actually green-light something so over-the-top and out-of-place.
Interesting, but I’m skeptical of this supposed architectural rendering. Given the Trump administration’s history of exaggerations and fabrications, I’ll wait for official confirmation before believing this.
Hmm, I’m curious to see if there’s any truth behind these plans. While a new ballroom could be an interesting renovation, the rendering seems way too exaggerated to be real. I’ll be watching for official updates on this.
This seems like a classic case of misinformation spreading on social media. An AI-generated image being passed off as a real architectural plan? That’s concerning. I’ll stick to reliable news sources for updates on the White House.
The scale of that ‘ballroom’ is just absurd. I can’t imagine the historic White House being marred by such an ostentatious addition. Hopefully this is nothing more than a fabricated image gone viral.
Whoa, that ‘rendering’ is something else! I can’t imagine the historic White House being overshadowed by such an extravagant addition. Hopefully this is just another social media rumor and not an actual plan.
Whoa, that ‘rendering’ looks way too over-the-top to be real. I doubt the White House would actually build something so gaudy and disproportionate. Seems like more social media misinformation.
A massive new ballroom for the White House, huh? I’m a bit skeptical, given the track record of this administration. Unless I see official confirmation, I’m inclined to believe this is just another viral hoax.
A new White House ballroom could be an interesting project, but that rendering looks way too exaggerated to be real. I’ll wait for official announcements before forming any opinions on this.