Artificial intelligence is only getting better, and it's hard to spot what's real and what's fake. After a 19-year-old woman shared an AI-generated image of herself sitting courtside next to Shaquille O’Neal on Threads, complete with a flirty caption, the post quickly picked up traction.
The images showed Shaq smiling beside her in one frame and leaning in to whisper in her ear in another. "Got the opportunity to sit courtside with Shqq," she wrote, adding, "What do you think he was telling me?" It sparked speculation and some jokes, but Shaq wasn’t playing along.
Many people didn't question the legitimacy of the photo, but the NBA legend shut the whole thing down in the comments with a blunt response: “Shaq has a beard, dummy.” While the images looked real at first glance, it was the piece of evidence he needed, because he's been rocking a beard for years.
The post is still up, and people are sharing zoomed-in portions of the images that point to the use of AI and other clues that it's fake, like how small Shaq looks. "Unless she's about 6’5 ", 250 lbs, this ain’t real. Shaq would’ve made her look small af," one person commented.
The moment is funny, but it points to a much bigger issue that seems like it's only going to get worse. As AI-generated images and videos get more realistic, celebrities are being thrown to the wolves of technology. Their image and likeness are being used without their consent, and putting them in some wild situations.
What might look like harmless fun or clout-chasing on the surface can quickly cross into misinformation, especially when they look like real-life encounters.
Plus, O’Neal has enough problems with real photos. Last year, he publicly denied rumors after appearing in a photo from OnlyFans model Sophie Rain’s 21st birthday party, when speculation swirled that the two were romantically involved. Shaq made it clear that he doesn’t date that young and addressed her directly in since-deleted comments, writing, "Stop tryna create rumors don't make me slap you dude," and “Your mom is hot tell her to hit me on my sky tell pager."
Before that, he also denied being the man in a viral, NSFW photo circulating on Instagram and published by TMZ that fans assumed was him based on the body. A woman shared a photo of a giant man behind her holding her chest, but his face wasn't in the frame. "Nope not the kid," O'Neal commented on Worldstar's post with the image.