YouTuber Brandon Buckingham addressed accusations and false information spread about him while he was hospitalized with organ failure, including manipulated AI images used to discredit his medical condition.
While recovering from his ICU stay where his heart, liver, and kidneys were failing, Buckingham discovered an AI-generated photo circulating online. The image showed him with a pink-haired woman, flexing money and smoking a cigar while wearing a hospital band. The caption read, “He’s all right and so is your money.”
“This is a completely AI photo. I don’t know who this person is. They’re just making this image to get cli cks online and I guess troll me a bit,” Buckingham explained in his response video. The fabricated image was designed to make it appear he was healthy and scamming donors to his medical fundraiser.
A content creator quote-tweeted the AI image, stating “He’s actually bragging about scamming his audience.”
Buckingham noted the irony of someone sharing obvious misinformation: “I’d like to think he’s actually smart enough to know it’s AI and he’s just a pathetic person that is trying to get attention by any means possible.”
The AI photo was part of a larger campaign of false claims made while Buckingham was hospitalized. Content creator Purple Parry Gaming had initially gained traction by claiming Buckingham was faking his hospitalization, pointing to his IV pump not being plugged into a wall outlet. The device runs on batteries, making the accusation baseless.
Parry also suggested the hospital itself was fake, questioned whether photos were taken on a television set, and made inappropriate comments about Buckingham’s family. “Mind you, I have never interacted with this person a single time in my entire life. He is saying all this solely because he is desperate for my attention,” Buckingham stated.
The YouTuber emphasized the impact of such misinformation. One donor was convinced to request a refund from his fundraiser based on the false accusations. Parry celebrated this outcome in a broadcast session, encouraging others to do the same.
Buckingham provided evidence of his actual medical condition, including documentation of his ICU stay and explanations of standard hospital equipment and procedures that Parry had questioned. He confirmed he was treated at Medical City Healthcare, part of the Medical City Dallas Health Care System, which can be easily verified online.
“I can’t imagine seeing somebody in the hospital and reacting this way,” Buckingham reflected on the coordinated efforts to discredit his genuine medical crisis through both AI manipulation and deliberate misrepresentation of facts.
