Chaos at Trump Rally: False photograph of smiling Donald Trump after gunshots goes viral
On social media platform X a handle with the username CccMan can be seen sharing an image of Former President Donald Trump smiling with a happy expression, purportedly after the incident garnering more than 1 million views. Donald Trump was allegedly the target of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time, and his ear was injured.
Other users can be seen making similar claims.
Fact Check
DFRAC’s team fact checked the image in question and after investigating we found credible media reports from NDTV and AP, which mentioned that a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was interrupted by what appeared to be gunshots. Trump and members of the crowd were seen ducking, and the former president was surrounded and rushed off stage by several Secret Service agents. Reports state that Trump pumped his fist in the air multiple times and looked in deep panic and shock while being escorted off stage before he was rushed into a vehicle. The alleged assassin is reported to be a 20-year-old named Thomas Matthew Crooks has been killed. However, the circulating image of Trump smiling after the alleged incident appears inconsistent and is a digitally altered image.
These are few more pictures of the president. Among these pictures, no where can be seen that Donald Trump was smiling after the gunshots.
Conclusion
It is clear from DFRAC fact check that there is an inconsistency between the reported events and the circulating image of a smiling Trump. The actual image appears to be different from what is being shared by the user. In the actual image, Donald Trump is not smiling, as claimed.
