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stated on June 25, 2020 in a Facebook post:
False

These photos show an art installation, not real children in cages

If your time is short

  • These photos show an art installation protesting child separation policies in the United States. 
 
See the sources for this fact-check

Images being shared on social media show metal cages with what look like people curled up inside under space blankets. 

“If you justify these photos you are not human,” a description of the photos says. “This is literally inhumane.”

One user who posted the pictures on Facebook wrote, “DO all lives matter? Asking for kids in a cage.”  

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

That’s because those aren’t people in the cages — they’re child-sized mannequins, part of a public art installation protesting family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The #NoKidsInCages campaign by Raices, a Texas nonprofit aimed at helping refugees and immigrants, arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, in February as people arrived to caucus for their Democratic presidential candidate. 

Each of the cages included a red sign that said “#DontLookAway,” visible although not legible in the photos on Facebook. CNN reported at the time that the mannequins played recordings of children who have been detained

We rate this Facebook post False.

 

These photos show an art installation, not real children in cages

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino