Facebook Apologizes for Wrongly Censoring Donald Trump’s Iconic Bleeding Photo

Facebook has acknowledged that it misidentified a widely shared image of Donald Trump as “altered.” Facebook’s algorithms detected the image, which shows Trump raising his fist in the air after an assassination attempt, and labeled it as possibly misleading. Platform X users claimed that the photo had been marked as altered on their accounts. Facebook responded by saying that impartial fact-checkers examined an identical image and found it to be fake.

Dani Lever, director of public relations at Meta, explained on X that the labeling was incorrect. Facebook’s internal technical system was intended to detect a different version of the image, not the iconic Trump photo. Facebook regretted the error and any misunderstanding it may have created.

“This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing Secret Service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied this fact check to the actual photo. This has been corrected and we apologize for the error ” wrote Lever.

This was a mistake. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing Secret Service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied this fact check to the actual photo. This has been corrected and we apologize for the error. https://t.co/y613GuuJpV

-Dani Lever (@Dani_Lever) July 29, 2024

Lever confirmed the error when Fox News Digital reached out for a comment.

The altered image Lever referred to showed Secret Service members surrounding a smiling Trump. Many media outlets previously fact-checked the facts as “altered”, although they 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 up. The image – captured by Associated press photographer Evan Vucci and distributed by SHOVEL — appeared with coverage of the shooting by many legitimate media outlets.