The Minneapolis-based big box retailer didn’t respond to requests for comment on the removal of the Abprallen items Thursday, but in a statement last week said it was removing some items because threats against the company were impacting worker safety and wellbeing.Īmong the items removed appears to have been an adult-sized Pride T-shirt featuring the drag queen Biblegirl wearing devil horns. “My work was likely pulled following false accusations of being a Satanist and of marketing my work to children, both claims have been debunked numerous times,” Carnell wrote in his statement. The items included a sweatshirt featuring a pastel-colored image of a serpent wrapped around a winged staff with the slogan “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People,” a messenger bag with a UFO image and the phrase “Too Queer for Here,” and a tote bag with images of planets and the line “We Belong Everywhere,” according to a Carnell’s statement and an announcement the company made ahead of the launch. The focus of the prior claims were around Target’s inclusion of the brand Abprallen, a London-based company that also sells some occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, such as popular pins and shirts featuring the phrase “Satan respects pronouns.”Įrik Carnell, the creator of the brand, stressed in a statement posted on Instagram last week that the company had just three items featured in Target’s collection, and none bore satanic references. “I am a Satanist myself so I thought it would be fun to use AI to explore what Satanic themed kids fashion might actually look like,” he wrote in his Facebook message to the AP. ![]() Reese said he was inspired to create the images following false reports that Target was selling satanic-themed children’s clothes as part of its Pride collection. “They’re Targeting Our Children,” Reese wrote in the post, which is found on AI Art Universe, a Facebook group for showcasing AI-generated art. His Facebook post from May 26 includes the red goat mannequin and other images being widely shared, as well as about a dozen others of children or mannequins dressed in apparel featuring devils, pentagrams and similar imagery. They were made using a sophisticated image-generating program.ĭan Reese, a software developer in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, confirmed in Facebook messages to The Associated Press on Thursday that he created the images over two days last week using a generative AI program developed by Midjourney, a San Francisco-based independent research lab. “They aren’t even hiding it anymore,” wrote another Facebook user sharing the post along with the hashtags #BoycottTarget and #SaveTheChildren.īut the photos aren’t real. “Selling satanic symbols on children’s apparel?” did you KNOW THIS about them?” wrote a Facebook user who shared the image this week. Another image shows two other children wearing red sweaters, each featuring a white goat’s head with eyes made to resemble Target’s familiar red and white bullseye logo. The collage includes a blood red, goat-headed mannequin and a young girl wearing a black shirt with a pentagram. THE FACTS: Amid attacks on the beleaguered retail giant over its LGBTQ+ merchandise for Pride month, social media users are circulating a set of synthetic images to claim Target is also selling a new line of children’s clothes featuring satanic imagery. Target also confirmed it has never sold the merchandise. ![]() The images were generated with an artificial intelligence text-to-image tool, according to the artist who created them. CLAIM: Photos of a goat-headed store mannequin and a girl wearing a black shirt with a pentagram design show Target is selling a line of satanic-themed children’s clothing.ĪP’S ASSESSMENT: False.
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