Kristi Noem/The White House via X
The White House published an image on Twitter in which a protester’s face was altered using AI to depict her crying during her arrest – instead of striking a calm pose, as she actually looked during the incident.
The woman in the photo was civil rights lawyer and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong arrested this week after disrupting a church service In Saint Paul, Minnesota. Protesters were demanding the resignation of a church pastor who they say is the acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in St. Paul, Minnesota. Levi Armstrong and other protesters are now being charged with federal conspiracy and racketeering, According to the Department of Homeland Security. trump administration officials have done again and again Speciality The protest was described as a “riot” and an attack on Christian worshippers; I am talking to cnn on wednesday Before his arrest, Levi Armstrong defended the action as a “peaceful non-violent demonstration”.
On Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem published a photo on Regarding the arrest of Levi Armstrong. It appears that Levi Armstrong was handcuffed as he was led from an office location by a federal agent. In this image, Levi Armstrong is not crying. She is also wearing bright pink lipstick and her mouth is closed.
About 30 minutes later, things got decidedly more bizarre when the official White House Also published an image on Reportedly depicts the arrest of Levi Armstrong. But in this version of the photo, Levi Armstrong is depicted crying, with tears running down his cheeks and his mouth open. Her pink lipstick, in particular, is gone.
“Arrested,” reads the large, bold text placed above the allegedly crying image of Levi Armstrong. “Far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong charged with plotting church riots in Minnesota.”
However, everything else about the image remains the same, including the position of Levi Armstrong’s body, the agent, and the background.
As cnn Fact-checker Daniel Dale confirmed soonThe image was altered to make it appear as if Levi Armstrong was crying during his arrest.
journalists And AdvocateOthers took to social media to immediately point out the discrepancy, showing the huge difference between the two images.
futurism We contacted both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to ask whether generic AI was used to alter the image, but did not immediately respond.
According to Dale, when contacted for comment, the White House responded with a link to a post from an administration spokesperson: “Law enforcement will continue. Memes will continue.”
However, in its initial post, the White House made no effort to clarify that the photo had been altered, nor did its presentation in any way suggest that it was not genuine. It was presented exactly as it was: a photograph. In this context, to classify this action – unannounced and ineffectively turning a photo of the arrest of an American citizen, who has been charged with a federal crime, but has not yet been tried in a court of law or convicted, published on an official White House information channel – as a “meme” is, at best, disingenuous. At worst, it is a revisionist lie aimed at influencing public opinion and the information ecosystem.
To that end, it is unclear why the White House would feel the need to alter the photo of the arrest in this way, other than to portray a different reality of Levi Armstrong’s detention – that is, if the photo published by Noem was not the reality. In accordance with the administration and its objectives.
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