The Reason Behind Facebook’s Trend of Jesus Christs Created from Eggs, Spaghetti, or Cauliflowers

Thousands of bizarre images of Jesus Christ, accompanied by texts such as “No one likes my artistic work” and “I made it with my own hands!”, are being generated by artificial intelligence on Facebook. While some of these images go viral and attract large audiences, others are used by page owners to monetize or scam users.

Researchers at Stanford University, including Renée DiResta, have studied this phenomenon and found that many of these images are captivating and attract interactions from users, possibly including bots. The competition for attention among page creators leads them to use any tactic that seems to work, including posting AI-generated content that the platform’s recommendation systems promote.

The academic study looked at 120 Facebook pages that published AI-generated images, each with at least 50 images, and found that these pages had an average of almost 130,000 followers. The images are often combined with texts that promote virality, and some users may not even realize that they are generated by AI.

Some users fall for scams related to these images, as scammers take advantage of gullible individuals in the comments section. These fake accounts interact with users, offering financial assistance or products that do not exist, with the goal of extracting personal information or selling fake products.

While Jesus Christ is a common theme in these images, other subjects like animals, landscapes, and memes are also used to attract attention on Facebook. The platform’s algorithm plays a role in promoting these images and increasing their engagement, contributing to their viral success.

Despite efforts by Meta to label AI-generated content on its platforms, the issue remains prevalent. Detecting these images may require cognitive effort, and not all users may be able to differentiate between AI-generated and real content. The phenomenon is not limited to Facebook, as AI-generated images are also popular on Instagram and other social media platforms.