1 hr ago
India's BJP and Congress Weaponise ChatGPT's Nostalgic AI Trend
People began using ChatGPT to make modern photos look like they came from the 1980s.
The images can change more than colors, including faces and other details.
BJP ministers Kiren Rijiju and Piyush Goyal joined the fun.
Then the Congress party in Kerala posted an AI-made picture of a van on a street.
People saw possible political references in the picture and its signs.
The BJP’s Telangana unit answered with another AI-made picture of a woman in a bar.
Its caption appeared to refer indirectly to Sonia Gandhi’s birthplace.
This turned a photo trend into a social-media exchange between India’s two major political parties.
The ChatGPT-generated 1980s photo trend spread from social media into political messaging in India.
BJP ministers Kiren Rijiju and Piyush Goyal initially shared lighthearted posts embracing the trend.
The Congress party’s Kerala unit posted an AI image featuring a bald man in a Maruti Suzuki Omni and a Delhi-referencing sign.
The BJP’s Telangana unit responded with an AI-generated bar scene captioned “Lusiana, Italy. Circa-1970s.”
The posts were interpreted as indirect attacks involving political rivals, Gujarat, Delhi and Sonia Gandhi’s birthplace.
- Who
- The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, including BJP ministers and state party units.
- What
- A popular ChatGPT 1980s-photo trend was used to create and share AI-generated political images and messages.
- Where
- On social media, including posts from the Congress unit in Kerala and the BJP unit in Telangana, with references to Delhi, Gujarat and Italy.
- When
- After the 1980s-style ChatGPT photo trend became popular; the articles do not provide a specific date.
- Why
- The trend was used to make indirect political references and criticize or mock rival political figures and regions.
Congress Messaging
BJP Response
Use of the 1980s trend
Congress Messaging
The Congress party’s Kerala unit used an AI-generated van scene with references to Gujarat and Delhi, which commenters interpreted as a message about its political rivals.
BJP Response
The BJP’s Telangana unit reposted the Congress image and answered with its own AI-generated bar scene, using a caption interpreted as a reference to Sonia Gandhi.
Political allusions
Congress Messaging
The Congress image evoked the Maruti Suzuki Omni’s recurring Bollywood association with goons and villains, while its caption and sign pointed to Gujarat and Delhi.
BJP Response
The BJP image did not name anyone, but its Lusiana caption was presented as an indirect reference to Sonia Gandhi’s birthplace.
Key facts
- Technology
- ChatGPT-generated images can add 1980s-style film grain, faded backgrounds, colorful clothing and date stamps, while also altering facial or other features.
- Early BJP participants
- Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Piyush Goyal shared posts celebrating the 1980s trend.
- Congress image
- The Congress party’s Kerala unit posted an AI-generated image of a bald man in a Maruti Suzuki Omni.
- Congress caption
- The image was captioned “A Gujarat street in the 80s,” while a nearby sign read, “Please smile, you are in Delhi.”
- BJP response
- The BJP’s Telangana unit posted an AI-generated image of a woman dancing in a bar with the caption “Lusiana, Italy. Circa-1970s.”
- Political reference
- The BJP caption was described as an indirect reference to Lusiana, Italy, where Sonia Gandhi was born.
Quotes
Kiren Rijiju
BJP leader and Union minister who posted about joining the 1980s-image trend
“Why is everyone going back to the 80s vibes? I'm also forced to 80s nostalgia”
NDTV
“Vibing to the 80s trend.”
NDTV
Sources
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