Mike Rogers

In June 2026, a claim circulated online that Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, or his campaign team posted an edited photo of Rogers with enlarged muscles at a parade.

One X account posted the image (archived) alongside a less muscly photo of the GOP candidate, writing, "[Left] - GOP Rep and MI senate candidate Mike Rogers actual photo from the campaign trail. [Right] - Photo put out by staffer."

Other social media users also said a staffer posted the image, while some suggested Rogers created or posted the item himself (archived, archived, archived). Snopes readers contacted us, asking about the image.

In short, the image is edited, but it was not initially posted by Rogers or a staffer on his campaign team. It was first posted by Abby Ronson, an employee at Convergence Media, a media consulting firm that Rogers' Senate campaign has worked with. Ronson's post includes a "Made with AI" label, confirming that the image itself is fake, in this case meaning generated or edited using artificial intelligence software. It is based on an existing, authentic photograph.

A spokesperson for Rogers' Senate campaign said via email that the image did not come from the campaign. Rather, it appeared to come from Ronson or her employer. Given the close ties between Convergence Media and Rogers' campaign, we have not rated as false the claim that Rogers or his campaign staff initially posted the fake image. This is because it was not possible to independently determine whether the two parties had or had not coordinated the post.

Given that Ronson marked the image "Made with AI," it did not appear that she or Convergence Media were suggesting the image authentically showed what Rogers actually looked like.

Snopes contacted Ronson through Convergence Media to ask who came up with the idea for the image and to confirm that she first posted it. We also contacted Rogers' campaign to confirm that Ronson did not work directly for it at the time the image was posted. We await replies to our queries.

The Detroit News reported that Ronson based her AI creation on an authentic photo (archived) that one of its photographers took of Rogers during a previous Senate campaign in July 2024. Rogers narrowly lost that election to the Democrat, Elissa Slotkin.

According to campaign finance data from the Federal Electoral Commission, Rogers' Senate campaign has paid Ronson's employer, Convergence Media, more than $716,000 for media consulting, production, placement and domain fees since January 2025.

It is unclear whether Convergence Media or Rogers' campaign came up with the idea for the muscled-up photo edit, though the campaign capitalized on the image's popularity, posting several subsequent AI-generated videos of a fake, muscular Rogers wrestling, rescuing a cat from a tree and walking through city streets.

One image (archived) on the campaign's "War Room" account showed a copy of The Detroit News that featured the real and fake images of Rogers on the front page, which the account captioned "front-page mogging." ("Mogging" is slang for outclassing someone or something, often based on physical features.)

Rogers' Democratic opponents further amplified the fake image. Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is one of the candidates who could face Rogers in the November 2026 elections, shared (archived) the image and wrote, "This is gender affirming care," referring to medical and mental health care for transgender individuals.

Abdul El-Sayed, another Democratic Senate candidate who could run against Rogers, suggested (archived) Rogers' campaign had attempted to make the GOP candidate look like El-Sayed, posting what appeared to mirror an AI prompt that read, "computa make this guy look more like Abdul El-Sayed." El-Sayed has previously posted about working out.

Caitlin Legacki, a consultant that Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Haley Stevens' campaign has paid since late 2025, posted the image of Rogers and wrote (archived), "Just so I'm clear…the same people who constantly make fun of Haley's appearance tweeted THIS photo?"

Rogers is the sole Republican Senate candidate heading into the Nov. 3, 2026, elections. McMorrow, El-Sayed and Stevens will all seek the Michigan Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in early August 2026.

Rogers has previously served in the Michigan Senate and the U.S. House.