White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest | Trump administration
The Guardian’s analysis of the image revealed that the White House released a digitally altered photo of a woman arrested on Thursday to appear to be crying dramatically, in a case brought forward by attorney general Pam Bondi.
The woman named Nekima Levy Armstrong also appears to have darker skin in the changed image. Armstrong was one of three people arrested Thursday in connection with a demonstration that disrupted church services in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. Protesters claimed that one of the chaplains, David Easterwood, was the acting field manager of the St. Paul ICE office. Bondi announced the arrests on social media Thursday morning.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released a photo showing Armstrong’s arrest at 10:21 a.m. Thursday, less than an hour after Bondi’s announcement. The photo shows a law enforcement officer accompanying Armstrong, who appears to be handcuffed, with his face blurred. Dressed in all black, Armstrong looks calm in the picture.
A little more than 30 minutes later, the White House released an arrest photo of Armstrong crying. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt republished the image. According to the Guardian’s analysis, it was revealed that the image published by the White House had been altered.
The Guardian overlaid the White House photo with the Noem photo and found the exact line-up of law enforcement officers in both photos, confirming they were the same image. There are other similarities between the photographs. An unidentified person is seen in the same location behind the arresting agent. And the arresting agent’s arm appears to be directly behind Armstrong’s back.
When asked if the image had been digitally altered, the White House responded with a post about X from deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr.
“AGAIN, I share this message with you to those who feel the need to reflexively defend the perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country: Law enforcement will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your interest in this issue.” he said.
The White House X account, which has approximately 3.5 million followers, has shared at least 14 posts with artificial intelligence since the beginning of Trump’s second term. Poynter reported in October.
Julius Constantine Motal and David McCoy contributed reporting
