On the evening of Saturday, September 27, 2025, a video appeared on US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account that would quickly ignite a firestorm of debate, confusion, and criticism. The now-deleted clip, slickly produced and styled to resemble a Fox News broadcast, featured an AI-generated likeness of Lara Trump—Trump’s daughter-in-law and a Fox host—announcing the launch of “America’s first medbed hospitals” and a national rollout of “medbed cards.” In the video, an AI-crafted President Trump himself promised that these new facilities boasted “the most advanced technology in the world,” designed to “restore citizens to full health and strength.”
But there was a catch: none of it was real. The video was entirely fabricated, never aired on Fox News, and was quietly erased from Trump’s social feed by the next morning. Yet, in those few hours, it had already gone viral, supercharging a bizarre conspiracy theory and raising tough questions about the intersection of politics, technology, and truth in the digital era.
The “medbed” conspiracy theory, which the video promoted, claims that the US government (and sometimes shadowy military forces) are hiding futuristic healing machines capable of curing any disease, regrowing lost limbs, and even reversing aging. Some believers go further, insisting these devices harness quantum energy, artificial intelligence, terahertz light waves, or even alien technology. According to CNN, proponents allege that big pharmaceutical companies are aware of these machines but purposely keep them from the public. Health experts, however, have dismissed these claims as pure fiction. “It’s really hard to define something that doesn’t exist,” Sara Aniano, a disinformation analyst at the Anti-Defamation League’s Centre on Extremism, told BBC.
The origins of the medbed myth are tangled up with QAnon, a sprawling and thoroughly debunked conspiracy movement whose adherents believe a “deep state” controls the government and is engaged in various nefarious plots. As Forbes and other outlets have reported, the medbed fantasy emerged among QAnon splinter groups in recent years. Some factions, like the one led by the late Michael “Negative 48” Protzman, have embraced even wilder variations—Protzman’s group claimed that medbed technology was being used to keep former President John F. Kennedy alive. Protzman himself died in 2023, but his followers continue to spread these beliefs online.
The viral video’s impact was immediate. Fox News confirmed to The Verge that the segment never aired on its official channel, and fact-checkers from USA Today and other media quickly pointed out the video’s AI-generated nature. The video’s content—promising “medbed cards” for access to miraculous hospitals—was pure invention, but that didn’t stop it from fueling speculation and excitement among conspiracy circles on social media. Some online users, especially those familiar with QAnon lore, saw it as a sign that their long-held beliefs were finally being validated by the highest levels of government.
Others, however, were left baffled or outraged. The use of AI-generated video—sometimes called a “deepfake”—to promote a medical conspiracy theory by the sitting president was unprecedented. For many, it was just the latest example of Trump’s unique brand of attention-seeking politics. As AP and AFP report, Trump has a long track record of courting controversy to dominate the public narrative, often blurring the lines between fact and fiction. This latest episode, experts say, is part of a broader strategy to stay at the center of conversation, regardless of whether the claims are true.
Matthew Gertz, a researcher at Media Matters, summed up the confusion: “If MedBed were real, it should be the biggest medical breakthrough in several generations. Trump needs to explain why he uploaded it, and why he subsequently deleted it.” Noelle Cook, author of The Conspiracists, saw the incident as more than a technical slip-up. She argued, “How can we bring society back to a shared reality when those in power are leading the public with this kind of narrative?”
Trump’s embrace of AI-generated images and videos isn’t new. Since January 2025, his social media team has posted a steady stream of AI portraits—Trump as a Jedi, as the pope, as a king—all designed for maximum virality. These images, which do not attempt to appear realistic, have helped the official Trump account amass over 16 million followers across platforms. The public reaction is deeply divided. Some find the AI memes and deepfakes embarrassing or alarming, lamenting that “the White House would become the subject of jokes,” as one X user put it. Others, especially Trump’s loyal supporters, revel in the outrage these posts provoke among critics. “Seeing the left explode over this is truly delightful,” tweeted another.
Yet not all of Trump’s base is amused. “I voted for you, but this is strange and frightening. It would be better to focus on mass deportation than this,” wrote one self-identified Trump voter on X, responding to a photo of Trump as the pope. For some, the spectacle is a distraction from more pressing policy concerns.
This pattern—using controversy, spectacle, and even misinformation to capture attention—is what experts call “attention politics.” Political historian Evan Cornog, author of The Power and the Story, explained to AP that the power of visuals in politics has only grown with the rise of AI. “Once you see it, you understand it. That’s how effective it is. It requires no effort, either from the creator or the viewer,” he said. AI expert Henry Ajder noted that false content can reinforce the beliefs of its target audience. “Many people share AI-generated content that is clearly false, yet it is perceived as representing the true reality about someone. In fact, even when they know it is false, they still view it as a reflection of the truth, their version of the truth about the world,” Ajder stated.
Meanwhile, the medbed video isn’t the only recent Trump controversy involving health misinformation. Last week, Trump sparked a separate outcry by claiming that Tylenol—a common pain reliever—causes autism, a statement unsupported by any scientific evidence. The World Health Organization has repeatedly asserted that there is no link between Tylenol, vaccines, and autism, emphasizing that autism’s primary causes are genetic. Trump’s comment left some parents of autistic children feeling blamed and hurt, while others welcomed the increased attention to autism research, hoping for more support from the government. The episode, however, reinforced concerns about the risks of high-profile figures spreading health misinformation.
In the wake of the medbed video and its rapid deletion, public debate continues to swirl. For some, it’s just another wild chapter in the Trump era, where spectacle often trumps substance. For others, it’s a sobering warning about how easily technology and conspiracy theories can be weaponized to confuse, entertain, or manipulate the public. As the lines between reality and fantasy blur, the question remains: how can society reclaim a shared sense of truth in a world where even the highest office can amplify the most outlandish of claims?
