Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai denied she provided the manipulated photo that unraveled a now-retracted deepfake claim, calling the controversy a political distraction 12 days before the Nov. 3 election.

In an Oct. 22 interview with the Beaverton Valley Times, Fai said she did not send the image to the Oregon Journalism Project (OJP) and did not ask anyone else to send it. The OJP's retraction attributed the image to an unnamed Fai campaign supporter.

"Obviously, they said it's a supporter of Nafisa, but I didn't send it," Fai told the Beaverton Valley Times. "I didn't ask anybody to send it, so I can only answer questions of my own actions."

As we reported Oct. 21, the OJP published a story Oct. 19 claiming footage of Fai speaking in front of an upside-down American flag at an Oct. 10 event in Minneapolis was a deepfake. The outlet retracted the story the next day after obtaining additional images confirming the flag had in fact been upside down.

Fai, who is running for county chair against fellow Commissioner Pam Treece, said she would have apologized had she verified the flag's position herself. She said she did not know who organized the Minneapolis event but described it as a celebration of American opportunity where she spoke to young people about hard work.

Fai said she remained uncertain about the flag despite the OJP's retraction. She told the Beaverton Valley Times she had seen multiple videos and photographs circulating online and could not determine which were authentic.

The Beaverton Valley Times reported that photos and videos originally posted by Somali TV Minnesota, which broadcast the event, appear to have been removed. Search engine thumbnails and previously shared links appear to show Fai and other speakers in front of the same upside-down flag. KATU separately reported finding cached photos on Google showing the flag upside down.

The image credited to Fai showed apparent inconsistencies, including a misaligned section of the flag and a partially missing star, according to the Beaverton Valley Times.

Fai characterized the episode as a "divisive and dishonest political stunt." She had shared the original OJP story on Facebook, writing that it was "a prime example of how AI can attempt to interfere with political campaigns and destroy people's reputations and lives." That post has since been deleted.

Fai's campaign manager, Brook Hill, initially told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Oct. 19 that she would provide screenshots and original video showing the flag positioned correctly, The Oregonian reported. About six hours later, Hill appeared to reverse course, writing in an email that the campaign had "no online material produced or approved by the campaign" related to the video.

No public response from Treece regarding the controversy appears in available records as of publication.

With the election approaching, Fai said she wants to refocus on affordability in Washington County. Ballots for the Nov. 3 election are due by 8 p.m. that day.