Khawaja Asif responds to trolling over Marilyn Monroe AI riddle

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has defended his social media activity after facing online criticism for responding to an artificial intelligence-generated image of Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe.

Speaking on a television programme on Friday, Asif dismissed the criticism and said he personally managed his account on X. He maintained that holding a senior government position did not mean he had to abandon his personal identity or sense of humour.

The controversy began on Tuesday when Asif responded to an AI-generated image of Monroe dressed in a 1950s-style outfit. The image challenged social media users to identify an object that did not belong in that era.

Asif reshared the post and identified a smartwatch worn by Monroe as the item that exposed the image as historically inaccurate. The original post has since been deleted.

His response subsequently attracted criticism and ridicule from social media users. The incident also drew attention from Indian media outlets, which reported on the minister’s online activity.

Asif firmly rejected suggestions that someone else operated his account.

He said he managed the account himself and used social media as an ordinary person, including for entertainment. He questioned why his response to a simple visual puzzle was being portrayed as inappropriate or unserious.

Asif explained that the challenge was to identify an object that would not have been present in a photograph from 1956. Since smartwatches did not exist at that time, he said, his answer was straightforward.

The defence minister also stressed that public office should not prevent politicians from maintaining their personal interests and everyday activities. He said he had no intention of pretending to be someone different simply because he held a prominent government position.