Saginaw, Michigan: a credit union CEO used ChatGPT to put herself and family members in 'Lake America' sweatshirts in a photo taken before a trip to Halifax; after her sister reposted it publicly without its AI label she says she received death threats and the family came home early, and on 23 September 2026 the credit union said she was no longer employed

WJRT-TV (ABC12) interviewed the executive for a report published on 17 September 2026 after a first broadcast on 16 September. She said the family was leaving on 11 September for a planned ten-day trip to Halifax and talked about the president's order renaming Lake Ontario; they 'snapped a quick picture and put it through ChatGPT to see what it would look like if they were wearing Lake America sweatshirts'. Banking Dive, relaying the interview, says the photo was taken at a departure gate at Detroit airport. She posted the altered image to her private Facebook page, in what WJRT reports she describes as a poor-judgment attempt at humour, with a marker saying it contained AI content. Her sister, who was on the trip, reposted a screenshot publicly without the marker: 'We were in Halifax at the time. We never had actual sweatshirts. We never wore sweatshirts.' Banking Dive reports the caption 'Like our sweatshirts? Not sure Canada will. Lol lol'; hostile comments from Halifax residents followed on Instagram and Facebook posts sharing the image. WJRT reports that the family returned early on a Tuesday because she said she was getting death threats; Banking Dive says she was back in the US by the 16 September broadcast, and CBC reported that Halifax District RCMP would not confirm any investigation. In a statement to WJRT she called the image 'insensitive, distasteful and in poor judgment'. She told WJRT she would not use AI again and that 'the AI can be dangerous in the fact that it can make people think something's real that's not.' The credit union told WJRT the post was unacceptable and made in her personal capacity. On 23 September WJRT reported the board's announcement that she was no longer an employee, effective immediately; the board told CBC that state law bars it from discussing the circumstances. Commenters objected to the image's political message; how far the missing label contributed to the reaction is not established.

After the ChatGPT-altered photo circulated without its AI label, she says she received death threats and the family cut the trip short; her employer then announced she was no longer employed, without saying why or whether she resigned (her account to WJRT; board statements via WJRT and CBC).

The credit union first said the post was unacceptable and made without its authorisation or knowledge (statement to WJRT, via Banking Dive), and its board told WJRT it 'disapproves and rejects' the post (via CBC). On 23 September 2026 the board chair and the chief operations officer announced that she was no longer an employee, effective immediately, with the COO as interim CEO (WJRT); the credit union later apologised to members. The board told CBC it is legally prohibited from discussing the circumstances under section 381 of the Michigan Credit Union Act; neither she nor the credit union has said whether she resigned or was dismissed.