Parody and satire are perfectly normal. Chillax.
Wailing about AI and "deep fakes" and trying to deceive the public because someone posted a meme is not a reasonable argument.
When the White House posted an altered photo of a suspect who was arrested after thugs invaded a church and disrupted services on January 18, people were outraged. This is a new low. This shows a total disregard for the truth, and they are deceiving people. This shows how dangerous President Trump has become, and what he thinks of people who disagree with him.
Chillax.
This is not someone who is a "political dissident." This is someone who is suspected of invading and disrupting a church service - things that are both federal and state crimes. Roughly seven million people took part in the "No Kings" protests a few months ago, and they are not being rounded up and charged with crimes. There is no First Amendment "right" to disrupt church services and violate private property rights. That is not "free speech."
Yes, the photo is altered. This is what we call "parody" or "satire." This has been common for 250 years in American politics, going back to the days of hand-drawn political cartoons. This is not an outrage. You are not exposing some sort of scandal by pointing to the fact that a meme is not 100% factually accurate. Everyone knows that already. In overreacting to this meme, you are exposing yourself as a humorless scold.
I have consistently criticized President Trump's lack of focus, discipline and professionalism for over a decade now. It would have been far better to have the Republican National Committee post this meme, or outsource it to a friendly political pundit. The official White House account should have a higher standard of professionalism. Democrats could make that perfectly reasonable argument and present themselves as the adults in the room.
What is not a reasonable argument is wailing about AI and "deep fakes" and trying to deceive the public because someone posted a meme. All that does is encourage more memes, more parody and more satire. Overreacting to President Trump does not work and does not harm him. It will not peel his supporters away. The best solution is to be what the President has never been willing to be: Focused, disciplined and professional. I see no chance Democrats are willing to do that.