{"id":1712,"date":"2026-06-04T18:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:05:13","slug":"canes-fans-confused-by-ai-player-photo-posted-by-nc-senate-candidate-michael-whatley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1712","title":{"rendered":"Canes fans confused by AI player photo posted by NC Senate candidate Michael Whatley"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Whatley may find himself sitting on the bench after his Senate campaign\u2019s social media accounts posted a photo of an artificially generated image of a hockey player from the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> to cheer on the team in the Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n

Read more Top NC GOP leader slams the door on abortion proposal. \u2018It\u2019s not a serious bill.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s Go, Canes,\u201d the post stated.<\/p>\n

But the image appeared to be a mashup of several players into one.<\/p>\n

The backlash was swift.<\/p>\n

One social media user wrote:<\/a> \u201cHey dawg I\u2019ll vote for you if you can tell me this player\u2019s name and number.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA real Caniac like @RoyCooperNC would never,\u201d another responded.<\/p>\n

Cooper, North Carolina\u2019s former governor and a die-hard Canes fan, is the Democrat facing off against Whatley in the U.S. Senate campaign.<\/p>\n

Cooper\u2019s campaign spokesman, Jordan Monaghan, saw the post and replied, \u201cQuick question @WhatleyNC \u2013 who is this? Can you name this player? Are you that out of touch that you had to use AI to generate a Canes player? Guess they might not carry our games up in DC … What a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatley, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is often criticized for spending his time in Washington \u2014 where the Capitals play \u2014 instead of North Carolina. While he holds events across the state, he rarely advertises them widely.<\/p>\n

But Whatley appeared Wednesday at an event he did advertise to the media, in Zebulon, where he hoped to stay focused on \u201cNo Tax on Tips\u201d policies.<\/p>\n

Instead, he was asked to name his three favorite Hurricanes players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we like them all,\u201d Whatley said. \u201cI don\u2019t have a favorite player. Look, I think that\u2019s a team that\u2019s loaded. They\u2019re playing offense really well. I\u2019m excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t off the hook, because he was asked about the image his campaign had posted.<\/p>\n

Read more Drums found buried at former Cold War Navy base on NC\u2019s Outer Banks, officials say<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a graphic that we used,\u201d Whatley said.<\/p>\n

Asked if it was made using artificial intelligence, he confirmed it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see the Carolina Hurricanes win,\u201d Whatley said. \u201cI think it\u2019s absolutely great for the state, and I think it\u2019s fun that they\u2019re in the Stanley Cup finals, and we did use AI for a graphic, it\u2019s not a big deal, but we\u2019re excited about watching them \u2014 see how they do in the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Hurricanes fans did think it was a big deal, with one user saying the post \u201cCost us game 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes played the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, and lost 5-4. Game 2 is Thursday at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

North Carolina voters take their state\u2019s culture very seriously, and a small slip-up like this can draw a lot of unwanted attention.<\/p>\n

Ask any candidate what their favorite barbecue is, and they may refuse to pick between eastern- and western-style \u2018cue because they know it\u2019s a divisive subject.<\/p>\n

Social media can be particularly fraught. Take Republican Rep. Mark Walker\u2019s Wafflegate<\/a> episode, in which his order at Waffle House during his Senate campaign and his choice of a utensil \u2014 pen \u2014 left North Carolinians confused and a photograph defending himself made the situation even worse.<\/p>\n

Or there\u2019s the 2020 Barbecuegate,<\/a> in which Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham posted a photograph on social media that indicated that grilling on a gas grill was the same as barbecue.<\/p>\n

Read more This NC vacation spot ranks among best in the US for families. Why folks love it<\/a><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t understand the scandal, you\u2019re not from around here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GOP Senate candidates draws criticism in North Carolina after his campaign posted an AI-generated Carolina Hurricanes player photo, prompting backlash from fans and rivals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nCanes fans confused by AI player photo posted by NC Senate candidate Michael Whatley - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1712\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Canes fans confused by AI player photo posted by NC Senate candidate Michael Whatley - 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