News

Midjourney pauses free trials for AI image generation over deepfake concerns

Viral images like puffer jacket Pope and Donald Trump in police custody led to Midjourney halting free trials.

March 30, 2023 11:05 AM

Midjourney

Over the last couple of weeks, images like Pope Francis wearing a stylish puffer jacket and Donald Trump being arrested by police have gone viral on social media. As these images were shared endlessly, there was general confusion as some viewers didn’t realize the images were completely fabricated, believing them to be actual photographs. It’s further ignited concerns about the ability to spread misinformation through AI, and has prompted Midjourney to pause free trials for its service.

Midjourney is a popular AI image-generating service, and was the one used to create the controversial viral images in question. Founder and CEO David Holz confirmed in a Discord message that the company made the decision to pause free trials for the service, as spotted by The Washington Post. “We just want to minimize drama,” Holz said.

Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump's arrest. pic.twitter.com/4D2QQfUpLZ
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 20, 2023

Midjourney asks users to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee to access additional features and enjoy faster image processing, but a free trial was previously available for those looking to try out or casually use the service. The company hopes that temporarily cutting off free access will reduce the number of viral images being spread using the platform.

As AI technology has improved in recent months, Midjourney’s AI image-generated has gotten much better at creating realistic-looking images. As rumors swirled that Donald Trump could soon be getting arrested for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, folks began generating and sharing images of the former President being arrested by police. Another image depicted Pope Francis in a large, white puffer jacket with a massive crucifix pendant to boot.

If AI-generated images continue to be the source of mass misinformation, Midjourney doesn’t want to be the source of those issues. It will be interesting to see if Midjourney reopens its free trials or keeps its service paywalled for the foreseeable future.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

Filed Under