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Summary
A viral image of a woman alone on her 50th birthday was found to be AI-generated and misleading. It was used to spread harmful stereotypes and attract clicks for unrelated products.
Summary:
A viral image of a woman alone on her 50th birthday is making rounds online, posted by an X user from a post on Facebook by Fahim Ahmed, with claims she has “no husband, no kids, and made the cake herself.” At first glance, it is sympathetic. But the image is AI-generated; as such, it is misleading. However, the post was designed to be a clickbait to a link to purchase a hoodie that is irrelevant to the image.
Claim:
On April 22, 2025, drloupis posted on X ( formerly called Twitter) an image of a woman with a cake, captioned “Today is my 50th birthday, no husband, no kids, I made the cake myself.” So far the post has 19.3m views, 12k comments, 13k reposts, 153k likes.
This image is part of a patterned misinformation campaign using AI to subtly reinforce outdated tropes: that a woman’s worth is tied to marriage and motherhood, and ageing alone is a punishment. These visuals weaponise empathy, shame, and social expectation to devalue independent womanhood, especially as women age. Hence, NFM fact-checked it.
NFM Checks:
The image in Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis’s X post is AI-generated. Key indicators that prove it is AI-generated are that the eyes and mouth have an overly smooth, almost plastic-like texture, which is common in AI-generated portraits. The candlelight doesn’t reflect naturally on the woman’s face or surroundings, which real cameras would capture more accurately. A close look at the fingers, sweater pattern, and cake shows odd blending or lack of realism, which are common flaws in AI images. The crying face appears too symmetrical and stylised, lacking the nuance of real human emotion captured in authentic photos.
We also analysed the image online. The AI-checker tool we deployed, Hive moderation, revealed a significant level of artificial intelligence creation of about 25.5%.
X platform users have noted that similar images, depicting individuals crying alone with a birthday cake, are common AI-generated visuals designed to evoke emotional reactions. However, the post is disguised to attract clickbait to a link for purchasing a hoodie, which is irrelevant to the image.
These images often follow a pattern: a solitary figure, emotional expression, and a setting meant to elicit sympathy or critique societal issues. The recurring nature and stylised presentation suggest they are not genuine photographs but rather AI-generated content.
It’s essential to approach such images critically, especially when they are used to support specific narratives. AI-generated content can be compelling but may not represent real events or individuals.
Social media users’ reactions:
This image sparked reactions as some users disagreed with the post, particularly on X.
“You do realise that this is an AI-generated image produced by a guy named Fahim Ahmed?” TheRealIMO tweeted.
“This isn’t real. They’re Facebook AI slop designed to farm engagement/sympathy from boomers, they always bake the cake myself,” Alaskamauve commented.
“You’re right, we’re going to see lots of AI-generated slop… I thought people only fell for this on Facebook, but it looks like they do on X too” Calibreus_ agreed that the image is AI-generated..
Conclusion
This AI-generated image is not just fake; it reinforces harmful stereotypes that a woman’s value lies in marriage and motherhood. It subtly shames independence and ageing, using emotion to push a patriarchal narrative. Feminism challenges this by affirming that women’s worth is not defined by who they marry or whether they have children.
Naija Feminists Media is committed to fighting gendered disinformation and misinformation that concerns women.
