Does a viral image really show Usha Vance in plaid clothes matching the fabric of the couch she sits on? No, that's not true: According to a facial recognition tool, the picture widely shared after the announcement of Usha Vance's fourth pregnancy did not even show her. Additional analysis strongly suggested that the viral image was AI generated.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Threads on Jan. 21, 2026. It opened:
When asked how she and JD found time to make a 4th baby, Usha said, 'you just have to find the right time and ensure the mood is right.'
The post contained an image purporting to show Second Lady Usha Vance wearing an outfit made of the same fabric as the couch she was sitting on.
This is what that picture looked like:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at threads.com/@brianjaystl)
And this is how the post appeared on Threads at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at threads.com/@brianjaystl)
Vice President JD Vance and his wife have three children together (archived here): Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. On Jan. 20, 2026, the second family announced (archived here) that Mrs. Vance is pregnant with the fourth child.
The image, however, did not show Usha Vance as she appears in 2026. Lead Stories compared her official portrait (archived here) with the viral image, using Amazon Rekognition. That facial recognition tool revealed that the pictures did not show the same person. Here's Rekognition's report:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of page at aws.amazon.com)
Lead Stories additionally checked the most recent video recordings of Mrs. Vance on C-Span from Nov. 19, 2025, (archived here) and Dec. 1, 2025 (archived here). In both, she did not look decades younger than in her official portrait.
The viral image showed that one of the woman's index fingers was slightly deformed, which becomes more evident if that section of the picture is rotated:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at threads.com/@brianjaystl)
A photo (archived here) that included a clear view of Mrs. Vance's hands from her husband's official account of X didn't show such a deformity:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post x.com/VP)
Furthermore, the image above clearly demonstrates that Usha Vance's wedding rings differ from those in the viral picture.
Another item that pointed to the AI origin of the viral image was the inconsistency of the fabric's pattern. If we look at the area around the collar, we see that the beige stripes separating the dark blue and red areas strangely disappear:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at threads.com/@brianjaystl)
Google's About this image tab showed that the picture reviewed in this fact check is very recent and that it originated from social media, not from news media organizations or government websites:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of page at google.com)
The picture did not appear on JD Vance's (archived here) or his wife's (archived here) accounts on Instagram.
Two online AI detectors -- Hive Moderation and AI or Not -- suggested a very high probability that the image was not authentic:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of page at hivemoderation.com/ai-generated-content-detection)
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of page at aiornot.com)
