MAGA Politicians Called Out After Falling For AI-Generated Photo Of U.S. Airmen Rescue In Iran

At least two Republican politicians are facing criticism after they fell for a clearly A.I.-generated photo of the rescue of two U.S. airmen whose fighter jet went down in Iran over the weekend.

U.S. special forces rescued the second crew member of an F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran, according to three U.S. officials cited by Axios. The crew member, a weapons systems officer, was wounded after ejecting from the aircraft Friday but was able to walk and evaded capture in the mountains for more than a day.

The shootdown created what officials described as a nightmare scenario, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also searching for the missing airman in southwestern Iran. Both crew members were ultimately recovered during special forces operations inside Iran.

One official said the second rescue mission involved a specialized commando unit supported by heavy air cover, with U.S. forces unleashing intense fire before extracting the officer and leaving Iranian territory. According to two sources, the pilot and weapons systems officer initially made contact through their communications systems after ejecting.

The pilot was rescued within hours. An Iranian strike during that operation hit a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter and wounded crew members, though the aircraft remained operational. It took more than a day for U.S. forces to locate and recover the second airman.

That news came after Iran also shot down an A-10 attack aircraft on Friday, in addition to the F-15 and a Black Hawk helicopter incident. The A-10 pilot was able to reach friendly territory before ejecting safely.

President Donald Trump later argued that the successful rescue of both F-15 crew members without any American fatalities demonstrated that the United States still maintained “overwhelming air dominance and superiority.”

Following the rescue of the F-15 crew member, the far-right X account @MissyIsMAGA shared an AI-generated image of the rescue along with the following message:

"Here is the photo of the honorable Colonel being rescued yesterday— God bless him— our soldiers are ALL doing God’s work! HAPPY EASTER!"

The post has apparently been deleted, but you can see the image below.

@MissyIsMAGA/X

In a now-deleted post, New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler declared "God Bless America!" in response to the "news," sharing the AI picture with his followers.

You can see the post below.

@lawler4ny/X

Texas Governor Greg Abbott–a major Trump administration ally—did the same in a post he has also since deleted, calling the "rescue" picture "so awesome."

You can see the post below.

@GregAbbott_TX/X

It sure was something to see two prominent politicians sharing such obvious misinformation—and they were swiftly criticized for it.

Since the rescues, Trump, who lauded them as an "Easter miracle," has threatened to wipe out critical Iranian infrastructure amid growing concerns about tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage at the entrance to the Persian Gulf that carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

How he doesn't see that this would put more American service members in danger—requiring more dangerous rescues—is beyond us.