Fact Check: Is the image showing Trump pumping fist following the WHCD shooting real?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, a photo began circulating on social media platforms claiming to show Trump pumping his fist, sparking speculation. Let us analyse the authenticity of the image and fact-check it.
Claim: Donald Trump raised his fist following the WHCD assassination attempt
The image spreading online purports to show him making the fist pumping gesture as security evacuated him from a Washington press gala disrupted by gunfire outside the ballroom.
The image that spread across Facebook, Instagram, and X garnered praise for Trump and theories that the event was staged.
The image resembles photos that emerged from a July 2024 attempt on the then-candidate's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, when he held his arm up and shouted, "Fight," as US Secret Service agents guided him off the stage.
The image has garnered hundreds of thousands of likes, with many sceptical of its authenticity, while a few believe it is real.
Fact Check: Fake, the image is AI-generated
The image, however, is AI-generated as Google's SynthID detection tool indicated the file contained a SynthID, an invisible watermark the company says is attached to AI content created using its programs.
Also, footage of the Secret Service agents rushing Trump away from the dinner confirms he never raised his fist as shown in the viral image.
A reverse image search also confirmed that the visual was made with Google AI, and Gemini, Google's AI tool, detected a SynthID linked to the picture.
An analysis using Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, assessed that the image is likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content and identified Gemini as the source. In the footage, the president appeared to stumble as the security surrounded him.
Donald Trump rushed out after the chaos at the dinner
The White House Correspondents' Dinner just became one of the most dramatic and alarming presidential security moments in recent American history, which was all caught on camera.
President Trump was evacuated from the annual dinner after a security scare sent law enforcement officers sprinting visibly through the packed room, with commands of "stay down" audible as Secret Service agents and police moved rapidly to secure the venue and remove the president.
The evacuation comes at a historically significant moment. This was Trump's first appearance at the Correspondents' Dinner in his second term, a night that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had previewed as fitting for America's 250th year.
