Did multiple people, ranging from anti-Trump protesters to a granny in pink, climb to the top of the Empire State Building on the same day, displaying different messages? No, that's not true: Those images and videos were AI-generated, according to online detection tools and visual analysis. Credible news reports confirmed that only two people -- previously featured in the 2024 documentary "Skywalkers: A Love Story" -- were removed from the top of the skyscraper on July 1, 2026, and then arrested.
The first claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @keithedwards account on X on July 2, 2026. It read:
Wow they just added a second flag
This is what the image looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @keithedwards on X.)
The banner in the image reads:
Donald Trump is a pedophile.
Image analysis
Lead Stories ran the image through OpenAI's tool to verify whether it was OpenAI-generated (archived here). The tool reached this conclusion:
(Image source: OpenAI.)
The second claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) by the @Ravious101 account on X on July 1, 2026. It read:
BREAKING: Something is happening right now at the Empire State Building! Sorry Not Sorry!!!!
This is what a screenshot from the video looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @Ravious101 on X.)
The banner in the video reads:
Trans women are men.
Video analysis
The Hive Moderation AI-Generated Content Detection tool gave the video an aggregated score of 99.6%, indicating the video is likely AI-generated:
(Image source: Hive Moderation.)
The third claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) by the @SoveyX account on X on July 1, 2026. It read:
Some people call it trespassing.
I call it community service.
This is what a screenshot from the video looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @SoveyX on X.)
The banner in the video reads:
Michelle Obama is a man!
Post analysis
The post is flagged "Made with AI" and includes the icon for Google Gemini, Google's AI assistant. It is circled in red below:
(Image source: post by @SoveyX on X.)
A visual inspection of the video by Lead Stories also strongly indicates that the video is digitally manipulated or AI-generated rather than a real event. The banner, the individuals standing precariously on the spire, and their surroundings against the New York skyline all exhibit unnatural movements and blending typical of computer-generated imagery.
The fourth claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @pnwguerrilla account on X on July 1, 2026. It read:
BREAKING: After two unknown people climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner on top of its spire Wednesday afternoon reading "ONLY TRAITORS HELP INVADERS".
This is what the image looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @pnwguerrilla on X.)
The same image also appeared in a post (archived here) by the @TruthFairy131 account on X on July 1, 2026.
Post analysis
The image is an edited version of a post (archived here) by ABC News on YouTube on July 1, 2026. It read:
Two people have climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a flag on top of its spire. The unidentified people appear to be wearing masks. https://abcnews.com/US/2-people-climb...
The original (left) and edited (right) versions of the post appear next to each other below. The actual flag flown by the climbers reads, "When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace." The doctored version reads, "Only traitors help invaders":
(Image sources: posts by ABC News on YouTube and @pnwguerrilla on X.)
The fifth claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) by the @grannyspills and @blurstudios.ai accounts on Instagram on July 1, 2026. The description read:
Oh honey, that's EXACTLY what it says 💅 #grannyspills #relationshipadvice
This is what a screenshot from the video looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @grannyspills and @blurstudios.ai on Instagram.)
Video analysis
The video was AI-generated. The accounts associated with it make no secret of their digital and AI connections. Granny Spills 💗 (@grannyspills) is a digital creator with more than two million followers. The second account, Blur Studios (@blurstudios.ai), has AI in its account name and its profile states: "Birthing the world's most influential AI personalities." Additionally, the camera movement is unusually smooth for handheld or airborne camera footage, and the wind blowing through her outfit and banner looks too uniform and mechanical, lacking the natural irregularity of wind-blown fabric.
News searches
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo News (archived here) and found that the incident involving the climbers was widely reported. No reports from credible news outlets showed any flags other than the one that read, "When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace." Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, were charged with felony reckless endangerment and burglary.
