AI-altered 17 News image targets Supervisor Jeff Flores; group cites watermark
A Bakersfield activist group posted a fake 17 News screenshot about Supervisor Jeff Flores. KGET says the image came from a 2020 story and was made with Gemini.
AI-altered 17 News image targets Supervisor Jeff Flores; group cites watermark
Key Takeaways
- A Bakersfield activist group posted an AI-altered 17 News screenshot about Supervisor Jeff Flores.
- The image used Google's Gemini tool and included a watermark.
- KGET says the screenshot was lifted from a 2020 Flores candidacy story.
- Central Valley Citizens for Responsible Government shared the image on Facebook over the weekend.
The screenshot looked real at first glance. The headline accused Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores of illegal contributions and votes, all wrapped in 17 News branding.
The post was fake.
KGET reported Tuesday, April 28, that a local activist group used an AI tool to build that image and then pushed it on Facebook. Why it matters for Kern County is simple, false posts about local officials travel fast during an election year.
What KGET found
17 News traced the altered picture to a 2020 segment about Flores announcing his run for the District 3 seat, not any grand jury case or racketeering probe. The new image carried 17 News graphics, a sensational summary, and a small watermark in the lower corner. KGET said the group built it with Google's AI system, Gemini.
Not a real KGET story.
Who posted it and what they said
Central Valley Citizens for Responsible Government shared the image over the weekend, according to KGET. In a statement to the station, the group said the AI-generated image included a watermark and argued "there's no reason to believe it was real in the first place." The group did not provide records to support the corruption claims in the post, and none were referenced in KGET's piece.
Flores is the District 3 supervisor, and he is on the 2026 ballot. His office did not post a public response on the county site Tuesday afternoon, and we didn't find one on his campaign page either.
Why it matters in Kern County
Local races in Kern often turn on low-information voters, and visuals get shared more than text. This one borrowed a trusted TV brand and slapped on criminal claims. Even with a watermark, it can stick. The county and the board have run into misinformation fights before, but this dropped straight into a supervisor race.
For readers in Bakersfield and Oildale, the takeaway is straightforward. If a screenshot says a public official got "caught" in a crime, check the original newscast before you share. A box of supermarket donuts sat open on the assignment desk while we did the same.
The final tell here was tiny, tucked into the bottom corner of the fake. A watermark most people would miss.
Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Newsdesk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.