AAP FACTCHECK – Doctored videos of US President elect Donald Trump promising people can make millions if they invest in his ‘Golden Eagles’ are circulating online.
The various videos, including some taken from his 2024 election victory speech, include audio altered using artificial intelligence (AI).
Manipulated videos also show Mr Trump talking about the Golden Eagles in television interviews, as well as Elon Musk supposedly endorsing the scheme and urging “patriots” to invest.
In one of the posts, Mr Trump addresses an audience in front of a lectern that reads ‘House Republicans 119th Congress’.
“Patriots, I am calling on each and every one of you to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity,” he is heard saying.
“In this crucial moment, I am urging you to invest in the Trump Golden Eagles…With the purchase of just 100 Trump Golden Eagles today, you will be able to exchange them for millions of dollars come January.”
A reverse image search reveals the manipulated video is taken from a recording of Mr Trump at the Republicans Congress meeting in November 2024.
In the original clip, he does not mention Golden Eagles.
A link in the caption in the altered video directs users to a site where you can supposedly buy Golden “Patriot Eagles”.
At the time of writing, links to purchase the item did not appear to work.
Small print at the bottom of the website says the website is not affiliated with Mr Trump or the Trump campaign, and that the product is just a collectable item and does not have any monetary value.
AAP FactCheck contacted the website creators for comment but did not get a reply.
The golden eagle is a symbol associated with Mr Trump and was the image of his official 2021 members card given to supporters who donated to the campaign.
Dr Andrew Lenson, an AI and computer science expert at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, told AAP FactCheck the Republicans Congress meeting video is “clearly fake”.
“The biggest ‘tell’ is at 0:09, where his mouth suddenly moves from a neutral expression into a deep grin – clearly unrealistic,” he said.
The low quality of another video is common in manipulated videos as a way of hiding the visual giveaways associated with deepfakes.
However, you can make out Mr Trump’s teeth, which disappear and reappear during the video – a sign of AI manipulation.
The actual video can be found on Mr Trump’s website and features him announcing a plan to wage war on Mexican drug cartels in December 2023.
Again, there is no mention of the Golden Eagles.
Another manipulated post on X in which Mr Trump supposedly spruiks the Golden Eagles is from his 2024 victory speech.
The edited clip starts with the original lines from the speech, but at 25 seconds it substitutes a doctored section in which he says the value of the Golden Eagles has risen since his election win.
“Everyone who invested in Trump Golden Eagles will soon be able to exchange them for real cash,” the audio says.
Another post appears to show Mr Trump endorsing the eagles on Fox News with host Sean Hannity.
But this is another manipulated video.
The original video of Mr Trump speaking dates from January 2021 when he was responding to the US Capitol riots.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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