TOLEDO, OH — An AI-generated Easter photograph of a smiling six-year-old boy identified in the caption as “grandson Jayden 🐰❤️” has amassed 4,341 Facebook likes since Sunday morning, despite the fact that Jayden does not exist, has never existed, and possesses seven fingers on his left hand, which is holding a basket that appears to contain a smaller, second basket.
The post, shared by 68-year-old Marlene Petrusky, has been liked, loved, and prayer-hands-reacted by 4,341 users, including Marlene’s actual daughter, her actual sister, three women from her actual church, and a man who has been dead since 2019.
“He’s getting so big,” commented Linda Petrusky, 44, Marlene’s real daughter, who does not have a son named Jayden and has never met a child named Jayden. Reached by phone, Linda confirmed that she did not read the caption, did not zoom in on the extra fingers, and does not plan to.
A content moderator at Meta who reviewed the image on background said the photograph contained “seventeen distinct visual anomalies,” including grass growing sideways, an Easter egg with a small human ear, and a golden retriever whose front legs are its back legs. The moderator said the image did not violate any platform policies and was, in fact, “performing exceptionally well.”
Marlene’s feed since April 5 has also included AI-generated photos of a beach vacation she did not take, a graduation she did not attend, and a lattice-topped pie she did not bake, all of which received warm engagement from an extended family that does not appear to be reading the posts before reacting to them.
“She’s always sharing sweet things,” said sister Deb Petrusky, 71, who liked the Jayden photo at 6:14 a.m. Sunday from her recliner. When asked to describe Jayden, Deb described her own grandson, Kaden, who is 11 and lives in a different state.
By Monday afternoon, “Jayden” had been formally added to Marlene’s Facebook page as a family member, congratulated on an unspecified achievement, and offered a used bicycle by a woman in her Bunco league. A follow-up post Tuesday morning shows Jayden holding hands with an AI-generated golden retriever named, per the caption, “Buddy 💕,” who also has seven fingers.
At press time, Marlene had shared a fresh image of the entire family gathered around an Easter ham that is, on closer inspection, a slightly smaller second ham.