Maine Police Insist AI Photo of Drugs Seized in Bust Was Legitimate Before Finally Copping to the Fake

Social media users called out Westbrook Police Department in Maine for posting a doctored photo of a drug bust [left]. Though the department initially denied the allegation, they later admitted the image had been manipulated and shared the original [right].

A Maine police department issued an apology after initially doubling down on the authenticity of a drug seizure photo — only to later admit that the photo had been altered by artificial intelligence.

The Westbrook Police Department posted an image on Sunday showing fentanyl and methamphetamine seized during a June 24 bust. But sharp-eyed viewers quickly spotted gibberish written on drug packaging, sparking accusations that the image was AI-generated.