In an episode that could have been seen in MND’s much-loved El Jalapeño satirical column, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that the viral image of a woman working on her tan from one of the windows of Mexico City’s National Palace wasn’t an AI-generated image but, rather, quite real.
The video surfaced a week ago and soon went viral. Although it was recorded from a mobile device at a long distance, it is possible to see that the individual is a young woman with her dress lifted modestly to bare her lower legs, presumably for tanning purposes.
¿Es real? Ella es la mujer que se volvió viral por asolearse en un balcón de Palacio Nacional, en #CDMX ☀️🏛️https://t.co/jT501mzuyn pic.twitter.com/j6YVgQAe1B
— La Jornada Estado de México (@JornadaEdomex) March 30, 2026
Because the National Palace is the official residence and office of Mexico’s president, the video prompted debate about the inappropriate use of a historical and official building.
Days later, the Infodemia MX organization, which belongs to the Mexican State Public Broadcasting System (SPR), said that it submitted the video through a verification process and concluded that it was a deepfake.
However, Sheinbaum revealed during her Monday morning press conference that the content of the video is, in fact, real.
“At first, the relevant department requested information from the area where this window is located and they reported that no one had ever gone out to sunbathe there,” she said. “Later, they checked and it turns out that there was indeed a person who had sat in the window that day.”
The president chuckled as she delivered the news, but was serious about the issue of respect.
#EnLaMañanera | ¡Fue real! Claudia Sheinbaum confirma que una persona sí salió a ‘broncearse’ en Palacio Nacional, tras la difusión de un video viral en #redessociales; aclara que ya fue ‘sancionada’ y llamó a respetar el inmueble como como patrimonio histórico pic.twitter.com/S7cnhdZPMZ
— El Financiero (@ElFinanciero_Mx) March 30, 2026
“We must have great respect for what the National Palace represents as a historical landmark,” she said. “While it is not explicitly forbidden to sunbathe on a window at the National Palace, we must respect the meaning of this heritage.”
The woman has been sanctioned and informed that such actions were unacceptable, but Sheinbaum gave no details about what the sanctions consisted of, nor the identity of the woman.
This story has been the subject of countless memes online, including one with the headline “Government considers including the ‘tanning balcony’ in official tour,” by the satirical newspaper el Deforma.
With reports from Infobae
