Netizens and social media users are furious with MSNBC, accusing the cable news outlet of using artificial intelligence to alter an image of Alex Pretti, the Minnesota ICU nurse who was shot and killed in a Border Patrol-involved shooting last weekend.
The @EndWokeness X account shared a screengrab on Monday, January 26, claiming the image came from “Deadline: White House,” a show on MSNBC’s MS NOW streaming platform. Another X user, @plebhed1, compared the image of Pretti that MS NOW used to the original picture. Indeed, MS NOW shared a video on its YouTube channel clearly using the altered image.
Upon reviewing both images, The Inquisitr noticed the following differences in the two pictures:
- Pretti’s beard looks thicker and darker, and his hairline clearly looks different.
- His face and skin appear altered, and more of his teeth are visible in the edited image.
- The structure of his cheekbones, as well as the size of his neck and arms, appear different.
- His glasses are aligned differently.
- The lighting and overall image tone are different.
they have to lie to stay in business… but everyone knows.. pic.twitter.com/fWuMolHoDR
— plebhed (@plebhed1) January 26, 2026
MSNBC had not addressed the accusations as of publication. The original @EndWokeness X post had over 1.5 million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
Homeland Security officials claim that Pretti was armed with a 9 mm pistol and “violently resisted” being disarmed. Minnesota officials have disputed that claim, and videos circulating online show Pretti holding a phone in his hand. Videos also show one agent retrieving the gun and running away.
One X user argued that MSNBC and MS NOW “decided [Pretti] was ugly and had to doctor his photo.”
“This is journalism now,” they wrote.
Although using artificial intelligence to upscale an image is not in itself bad, there is a significant difference between trying to make a picture less blurry and outright editing how a person looks in a photo. Pretti appears markedly different in the edited image, and social media users had plenty to say.
Apparently MSNBC used an altered photo of the man who was shot by ICE. https://t.co/Pq2RfNMfuN
— Poetrypainter (@poetrypainter) January 27, 2026
“Using AI like this on a cable news network should be an automatic fine,” read one comment.
“The media proves time and time again how dishonest they are,” another user vented. “From editing out context to using AI on images. To me, this is just a soft test to see if people notice. Next, they [are] gonna try to pass an AI video as ‘real,’ and I am waiting for that day.”
CNN reported on Tuesday that Pretti suffered a broken rib earlier this month during a previous interaction with federal officers, who allegedly tackled him during a protest. It was unclear whether the federal officials who interacted with — and later shot — Pretti last Saturday had recognized him from a previous encounter.
Protests have ramped up in recent days following Pretti’s death. A video emerged on X Sunday evening of a masked protester throwing an unidentified object at a federal officer. Minnesota has been a focal point of anti-ICE protests for nearly two months, dating back to the launch of Operation Metro Surge in early December.
As of publication, it remained unclear how many individuals have been arrested in connection with the anti-ICE protests overall, though at least 30 protesters were arrested the weekend of Jan. 9 following the ICE-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good earlier that week.
