Facebook has acknowledged that it mistakenly identified a widely shared image of Donald Trump as “altered.” Facebook’s algorithms detected the image, which depicts Trump raising his fist in the air following an assassination attempt, and labelled it as possibly deceptive. Platform X users claimed that the photo had been marked as altered on their accounts. Facebook responded by saying that unbiased fact-checkers had examined an identical image and discovered it to be false.
Dani Lever, the director of public affairs at Meta, explained on X that the labelling was incorrect. The Facebook’s internal technical system was intended to detect a different version of the image, not the iconic photo of Trump. Facebook expressed regret for the mistake and any misunderstanding it may have created.
“This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed, and we apologize for the mistake,” Lever wrote.
This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake. https://t.co/y613GuuJpV
— Dani Lever (@Dani_Lever) July 29, 2024
Lever confirmed the mistake when Fox News Digital reached out for a comment.
The altered image Lever referenced featured the Secret Service members surrounding Trump smiling. Many media outlets previously fact-checked the images as “altered,” though it confirmed the accuracy of the original image.
None of the agents in the original image are smiling as they surround Trump, who has blood on his face and his right arm in the air. The image – which was captured by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci and distributed by the AP – appeared with coverage of the shooting by many legitimate news outlets.
