Facebook had been censoring photos of Donald Trump with his fist raised and face bloodied, following the assassination attempt against him. Third-party fact checkers flagged the photos apparently, claiming they had been altered. Facebook later acknowledged that the photos were mistakenly censored.
The iconic photo, taken by an Associated Press photographer, went viral on social media before an edited version emerged, falsely showing Secret Service agents “smiling as they surrounded him after the shooting.” This doctored photo was censored, and subsequently, the original photo was also mistakenly censored.
BREAKING: Facebook is now censoring the iconic image of Trump's defiant fist
It's now flagged as MISINFORMATION pic.twitter.com/ePUl5kuMw6
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 29, 2024
After public backlash, Meta admitted the error, clarifying that the warning was intended only for the altered image. Fact checkers and their AI software had mistakenly flagged all similar images.
“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,” said Facebook’s communications director Dani Lever.
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
Meta employs third-party fact checkers and AI to monitor content for misinformation. On Meta’s website, they state, “We also use AI to scale the work of fact checkers by applying warning labels to duplicates of false claims and reducing their distribution.”
A 2021 lawsuit by journalist John Stossel revealed that Facebook’s fact checkers had significant left-leaning bias. Although Facebook claims their fact checkers are independent, these checkers rely on “experts” with their own biases.
Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, PA, on July 13 when a gunman opened fire, hitting him in the right ear. Secret Service agents immediately surrounded him. The assailant, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service agents after firing eight shots. Corey Comperatore, who shielded his wife and daughter from gunfire, lost his life during the attack.
As agents escorted Trump off the stage, he raised his fist and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” This powerful moment was captured in the now-iconic photo.
