MS NOW shared AI-manipulated Alex Pretti photo on TV, website and YouTube. Here's what we know

A rumor users shared online in January 2026 claimed that cable news network MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, broadcast an artificial intelligence-enhanced photo of slain Minneapolis intensive care nurse Alex Pretti. According to users' social media posts, the image presented a more attractive version of Pretti, who cared for critically ill veterans for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Federal immigration agents fatally shot Pretti, 37, on a Minneapolis street on Jan. 24 — a killing captured on video by multiple witnesses, igniting a wave of renewed protests of the immigration enforcement tactics authorized by President Donald Trump's administration.

Readers emailed us to ask about MS NOW featuring an AI-enhanced image and searched Snopes' website for more information. In short, it was true that the network aired an inauthentic image of Pretti.