**Viral News Snippet:**

Viral News Snippet:

EXCLUSIVE: Hegseth’s Kentucky Campaign Ad Uses AI-Generated Footage of ‘Veterans’ – Actual Soldiers Deny Involvement

Date: October 26, 2023

FRANKFORT, KY – A political ad circulated by former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, intended to boost his rumored Kentucky Senate campaign, has ignited a firestorm after veterans identified the featured soldiers as artificial intelligence-generated figures.

The ad, titled “The Kentucky Way,” depicts Hegseth walking through a foggy field alongside a group of uniformed men. The narrator claims these are “Kentucky’s own 101st Airborne veterans.” However, an independent digital forensics group, CyberCheck, has flagged the footage as 93% likely AI-synthesized, citing unnatural eye reflections and inconsistent shadow physics.

The campaign is now facing backlash from actual Kentucky veterans, including retired Sergeant Major James “Mac” McAllister, who called the ad “disrespectful garbage.”

VERDICT: 🔴 FAKE (The Ad is AI-Generated, But the Scandal is Real - Confirmed by Multiple Forensics Reports) – The allegations are true; the ad is being pulled following the exposé.