Claim: A Facebook page, Golden Generation, posted a viral photo of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, wearing an Argentina jersey as he dined with match officials.
Verdict: False! DUBAWA’s forensic checks showed that the viral image is AI-generated. The claim was also not reported by any credible news outlet.
Full Text
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Argentina’s Football Association (AFA) are facing renewed scrutiny following reports of alleged money laundering, embezzlement, and questionable commercial deals tied to Argentina’s football operations.
According to reports, U.S. federal authorities have opened investigations into AFA’s operations over alleged fraud and money laundering involving more than $300 million. Contracts were reportedly routed through shell companies and private firms in Miami, raising suspicions about financial transparency.
Argentina’s dramatic comeback against Egypt (3–2) and their quarter-final win over Switzerland (3–1) sparked accusations of favourable treatment by FIFA, though no evidence of match-fixing has been proven.
However, a Facebook page, Golden Generation, posted a photo of FIFA President Gianni Infantino wearing an Argentina jersey and dining with people in referee attire. The picture shows someone who looks like Donald Trump, the president of the United States, spying from an obscure corner.
The claim reads: “FIFA president Gianni Infantino spotted having a good time with Argentina-nominated referees ahead of the match between France and Morocco in the Quarterfinals.”
A similar photo is found here, here, and here.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim due to its potential to mislead the public.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a Google search and found that the claim was not supported by credible news outlets such as BBC Sport, Sky Sports News, and MARCA. We then subjected the image to two AI image detectors, DeepAI and ZeroGPT, both of which returned an 86% likelihood that the image is AI-generated.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s thorough investigation found no evidence of Infantino wearing an Argentine jersey during a dinner with match officials. The image is 86% AI-generated.