On Thursday morning, amid continuing unrest in the Twin Cities after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killing of Renee Good, the Trump White House posted an artificial intelligence–altered image of an anti-ICE protester in police custody. The original image shows Nekima Levy Armstrong being led away in handcuffs, her face stoic. The image spread by the Trump administration, on the other hand, shows her face twisted in anguish, mouth open mid-cry, tears streaming down her cheeks. Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem had posted the original just one hour prior.
Levy Armstrong had participated in a protest that Sunday that disrupted a local church service. A pastor at the church, David Easterwood, is listed in court documents as the acting St Paul field director for ICE. Armstrong herself is an ordained reverend. Speaking about the protesters’ rationale prior to her arrest, she said, “When you think about the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents upon our community and all the harm that they have caused, to have someone serving as a pastor who oversees these ICE agents, is almost unfathomable to me.”
A Guardian analysis of the two photos confirmed that the one posted by the White House is a digitally altered version of the one posted by Noem. When asked for comment, the White House pointed to an X post by a White House communications official, who stated, “The memes will continue.” The response glibly suggested that the image was meant to be recognized as fake and humorous, when in fact it was presented without commentary as a real photograph of an actual event.
Under the White House’s X post of the altered photo, the reactions were split between commenters highlighting that it was fake and commenters for whom the altered image had the intended effect. The latter cohort relished her imaginary misery.
Florida congressman Randy Fine replied, “Cry away, terrorist.” Commenters unleashed a firehose of giddy…
Auteur: Meagan Day
