A viral pro-Trump influencer who appeared to be a blonde American woman was actually a fully AI‑generated persona created by a 22‑year‑old Indian medical student, WIRED reports. The account, using the name Emily Hart, was assembled with generative AI to produce her face, body, captions and political identity.
The creator, who used the pseudonym Sam and says he is an aspiring orthopedic surgeon, began the project while under financial strain during his studies. He used AI tools including Google’s Gemini, which reportedly suggested targeting conservative “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) audiences in the US, particularly older men who are more engaged and likely to spend money online.
Sam designed Hart as a stereotypical pro‑Trump influencer: a blonde, Christian, gun‑supporting American woman. Her posts showed her in bikinis, ice fishing, drinking beer and handling firearms; the profile also claimed she was a nurse and was reportedly modeled to resemble actress Jennifer Lawrence.
Within a month the account gained more than 10,000 followers and began earning through subscription platforms like Fanvue, where users paid for exclusive AI‑generated content. Sam also used X’s Grok AI to create more explicit images for monetization. He said he spent under an hour a day managing the account and earned several thousand dollars monthly.
Instagram removed the account in February for fraudulent activity, and Facebook later took down the linked profile after the scheme was exposed.
