'I am a normal human being': Khawaja Asif brushes off online trolling over AI-generated Marilyn Monroe riddle

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday brushed off online trolls who mocked him for responding to an AI-generated riddle featuring Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe on the social media platform X.</p> <p>On Tuesday, the defence minister and PML-N stalwart replied to an AI-generated image of Monroe on X, which asked users to spot the one item that did not belong in the AI-generated image from the 50s.</p> <p>Asif reshared the post and pointed out that Monroe was wearing a smartwatch in the image. The original post shared by the defence minister has since been deleted.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/KhawajaMAsif/status/2110061669011616003'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/KhawajaMAsif/status/2110061669011616003"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>Subsequently, netizens <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634796/khawaja-asif-trolled-over-marilyn-monroe-ai-puzzle-on-x">questioned</a> the propriety of the post, while Indian media also published articles on Asif’s <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://theprint.in/go-to-pakistan/pakistani-defence-minister-khawaja-asif-marilyn-monroe/3071787/">online activities</a>.</p> <p>On Friday, Asif was asked about the post and whether he operated his X account himself during an appearance on <em>Geo News</em> programme ‘<em>Naya Pakistan</em>’.</p> <p>“Two hundred per cent I operate it myself,” he said.</p> <p>“I have a personal life and a normal life. I am a normal human being; there is nothing special about me,” he emphasised, adding that he had “no pretences”.</p> <p>“They presented a riddle asking about what was amiss with this photo, something that should not have been present in 1956. And that was the smartwatch, so I wrote ‘watch’. What is non-serious about this?”</p> <p>Asif stressed that though he was the defence minister, he operated his own account “for fun” and asked: “Am I not Khawaja Asif? If I am the defence minister, should I abandon my identity — whether it be good or bad?”</p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.