AI-generated Met Gala photos fool millions online

Millions of social media users scrolled past images of Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj at the 2026 Met Gala and believed them. Within hours, posts showing the celebrities in elaborate couture garnered over 3 million views combined. There was just one problem that neither star attended the event.

The photos were entirely AI-generated, yet platforms like X and Instagram spread them with the velocity of genuine celebrity journalism.

The damage happened in real time. An X user posted AI-generated images of Nicki Minaj in a lavender-to-blue sculptural gown that aligned perfectly with the evening's "Fashion is Art" theme so perfectly, in fact, that the fabrication felt inevitable.

Likewise, in an Instagram post captioned “STUNS at the #MetGala 2026”, Britney Spears appeared wearing a dress based on the Mona Lisa painting designed by Hayden Williams. The fans were left with comments full of genuine excitement until they learned the truth, “I thought it was real, I had gotten so excited,” one said.

However, this is not only a problem related to celebrities' posts. A digital artist named RickDick, who even had clients like Moschino, posted images of AI-created models dressed for the Met Gala on Instagram, garnering up to 900,000 likes.

RickDick positioned himself as an artist exploring the possibilities of AI; yet, in the absence of any disclaimer about that being his interpretation of an AI-generated model, once posted elsewhere, these pictures looked just as authentic as others.

The crisis of authenticity deepened when Google's own AI search tool was fed these fake images and validated them as genuine Metropolitan Museum of Art photography, even linking to BBC coverage. A search for "Anya Taylor-Joy Met Gala" returned AI fakes framed as legitimate reportage.

The Met Gala has transformed into a verification nightmare. Anna Wintour's carefully curated spectacle now competes for attention against an army of convincing fabrications.

As one creator noted, the event's inherent "extravagance is expected" making it the perfect subject for AI spoofing.