Kristi Noem / The White House via X
The White House released an image to the
The woman in the image, civil rights attorney and organizer Nekima Levi Armstrong, was arrested this week for disrupting a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. The protesters were demanding the resignation of the church’s pastor, who is acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in St. Paul, Minnesota. Levy Armstrong and other protesters now face federal conspiracy and menacing charges, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Trump administration officials have repeatedly characterized the protests as “riots” and attacks on Christian worshipers. talk to CNN Levy Armstrong defended the action on Wednesday, before his arrest, as a “peaceful, non-violent demonstration.”
On Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem released photos of Levy Armstrong’s arrest. Levy Armstrong appears to be handcuffed as he is led through the office by federal agents. Levi Armstrong is not crying in this image. She also wears bright pink lipstick and her mouth is closed.
About 30 minutes later, things got even weirder when the official White House X account also published an image on X purportedly depicting Levy Armstrong’s arrest. However, this version of the photo shows Levi Armstrong sobbing with tears streaming down his cheeks and his mouth open. Especially since her pink lipstick is gone.
The words “Arrested” in large bold letters are inserted above an image of Levy Armstrong, who is said to be sobbing. “Far-left agitator Nekima indicts Armstrong for organizing Minnesota church riot.”
However, everything else about the image is the same, including Levi Armstrong’s body, agent, and background position.
as CNN Fact checker Daniel Dale quickly admitted that the image had been altered to make it appear as though Levy Armstrong was crying during the arrest.
Journalists and lawyers, among others, were quick to point out the discrepancy, pointing out the stark differences between the two images on social media.
futurism contacted both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to ask whether generative AI was used to alter the images, but did not immediately receive a response.
When asked for comment, Dale said, the White House responded with a link to a post by an administration spokesperson that said, “Law enforcement continues. Memes continue.”
However, the White House made no attempt to clarify in its initial post that the photo had been altered or to suggest in any way that the photo was not authentic. It was presented exactly as a photo. In this regard, it is disingenuous at best to classify this act, the private and unscrupulous alteration of arrest photos of American citizens who have been charged with federal crimes but who have not yet been tried, tried, or convicted in a court of law, and published on official White House information channels as a “meme.” At worst, this is a revisionist lie aimed at influencing public opinion and the information ecosystem.
To that end, it is unclear why the White House would feel the need to alter the arrest photo in this way, other than to depict an alternate reality of Levy Armstrong’s detention, i.e., if the reality of the photo released by Noem does not suit the administration and its objectives.
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