Jensen Huang Fake Leather Jacket Image: The AI Photo That Fooled the Internet, and How It Was Exposed

The image shows Huang in an archival-style studded leather biker jacket with a cross, the look of designer Hedi Slimane’s era at Saint Laurent. It was shared as his first public appearance since the affair reports, and Highsnobiety says it “instantly rocketed across the internet,” with commenters joking about his “bad boy arc”. CNN’s headline: a fake image of Huang in a studded leather jacket “took over the internet.”

It was believable because the leather jacket is Huang’s signature. He told CBS he owns 30 to 40 leather jackets: “It’s nice to wear the same thing every day.” One Tom Ford jacket sold at Sotheby’s for $960,000, Highsnobiety reported. More on Jensen Huang’s career.

HuffPost found the image was built from real Getty Images photos of Huang taken in Seoul in June 2026, where he wore a slim-fitting jacket, not a studded one. Highsnobiety identified the original as a Dior zip-up.

Dartmouth computer science professor Hany Farid ran it through SynthID, Google DeepMind’s watermark detector:

“This image that is being widely shared contains an invisible watermark.” — Hany Farid

SynthID reported: “This media was made or edited with OpenAI.” Farid cautioned that “only a few AI models insert these watermarks so while the presence of a watermark is informative, the absence is not.” HuffPost said Nvidia did not respond to its request for comment.

Farid warns that “the average person cannot reliably distinguish authentic from AI-generated images,” so look for evidence, not glitches:

• Find the original: run a reverse image search. A real event photo usually traces back to Getty, AP or Reuters, often with a different outfit or date.
• Check for watermarks: tools like SynthID and Content Credentials can flag AI edits, but a clean result proves nothing.
• Check the timing: viral images that “confirm” a breaking scandal are prime targets for fakes.
• Check the source: fakes often launch from anonymous meme accounts, not news outlets.

AI misinformation is one of the harms behind the Indie Games Festival AI backlash.

The fake photo is not the only problem. 404 Media found 21 online retailers selling “Jensen Huang” leather jackets, all using his image, many in faux leather at under $100. None are affiliated with Huang or Nvidia.

Before buying from a celebrity-branded shop, check it with our scam website checker. If a site uses your brand or likeness without permission, our phishing takedown service reports it to the host and registrar.

The jacket meme landed during a brutal week for Nvidia: see Jim Cramer’s Nvidia stock comments after Huang resigned.