Photo of concrete wall in front of White House is doctored
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The image is doctored. The original photo was taken in 2009 and includes no wall.
A manipulated photo of a massive wall in front of the White House was widely shared as real on social media on Election Day.
One Facebook user who shared the image wrote in the caption that it was “truly a sad spectacle.”
The 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.)
A reverse-image search reveals that the original aerial photograph of the White House was taken in 2009 and doesn’t include the towering wall.
Shadows from the trees, which appear to stick out underneath the wall despite it matching them in height, provides further evidence that the photo is doctored.
The National Park Service announced that temporary, anti-scale fencing was set up around the White House complex, but it does not resemble the wall in the post’s photo.
This image is outdated and altered. Pants on Fire!
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Our Sources
Facebook post, Nov. 3, 2020
Reverse-image search, Nov. 4, 2020
Getty Images, Aerial view of the White House, Washington, D.C., September 2009
National Park Service, Temporary Area Closures, Nov. 2, 2020
Washington Post, Temporary security fence to enclose White House complex, Park Service says, Nov. 2, 2020
CNN, See the fence being built around the White House, Nov. 3, 2020