Mitch McConnell

An AI-generated photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell in a hospital bed has been circulating online.

The image was identified as fake by OpenAI's verification tool and has visual inconsistencies.

The fake photo appeared while McConnell has been hospitalized since June 14 for an unconfirmed reason.

McConnell has a history of health issues, including polio, a triple-bypass surgery, and several falls.

Have you seen that photo of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in a hospital bed? If you thought it was real, you've been duped.

The image is AI generated.

OpenAI's verification tool detected a SynthID on the photo, which is a watermark automatically added to photos so they can be identified as AI-generated content.

There are other signs the photo is fake, too.

For instance, the tubes coming out of the man's mouth in the photo don't connect to anything, fact-checking site Snopes reported. The background is also warped and parts of the photo are unnaturally blurry, Yahoo News pointed out.

The photo began circulating as McConnell's health has become a topic of national conversation.

McConnell hospitalized for weeks

McConnell, 84, has been in the hospital since June 14, USA TODAY reported. His office has not confirmed why the lawmaker needed medical attention.

But audio from an emergency dispatch call suggests McConnell was reported unconscious at his residence in Washington D.C. last month, prompting an advanced life support response, according to journalist Desiree Townsend.

And new video emerged July 10 of a person being wheeled into an ambulance on a stretcher, CNN reported, noting that one of McConnell's neighbors filmed the video the morning he was hospitalized. The video does not show who's on the stretcher but neighbors told CNN they saw McConnell on the stretcher.

McConnell, who's been in office more than 40 years, has faced health problems in the past.

Polio, triple bypass, and falls

McConnell was diagnosed with polio when he was two years old and spent almost two years confined to a bed, according to the McConnell biography, "The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America, and Lost His Party."

He recovered with physical therapy and medical treatment, though his left thigh would always be smaller than his right, the book said.

Later, scientists discovered post-polio syndrome, which caused a resurgence of the disease among people who had polio as a child. It causes unexplained muscle weakness, fatigue and heart problems in some people.

"In McConnell's case, the most he will say is that a comeback of the disease seems to have affected his mobility," journalist Michael Tackett wrote, noting that McConnell said in 1995 that he has difficulty going down stairs due to the disease.

In 2003, McConnell had a triple-bypass surgery.

In 2019, he underwent surgery for a shoulder fracture he sustained when he fell down stairs at his Louisville home, the biography said.

More recently, McConnell noticeably froze up twice while speaking to reporters in 2023, once in Covington, Kentucky. He also started sometimes using a wheelchair after he fell several times.

In February, he was hospitalized for eight days after experiencing flu-like symptoms, USA TODAY reported.