White House posted a doctored photo showing an arrested ICE protester crying
In January 2026, the official White House account posted a photo of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong's arrest at a Minnesota anti-ICE protest depicting her with tears streaming down her face, about 30 minutes after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's account posted a near-identical, neutral-expression original. The New York Times ran both images through Resemble.AI forensic detection, which flagged manipulation in the White House version and found the DHS original authentic. A White House official confirmed to CNN's Daniel Dale that the image was altered, calling it a meme ('the memes will continue').
Confirms NYT ran Resemble.AI forensic analysis finding manipulation in the White House image.
Independent confirmation of the altered image and timeline versus Noem's original post.
Local independent outlet covering legal fallout; confirms White House admission.
White House official directly confirmed the alteration to CNN's Daniel Dale -- constitutes a public admission.
Contacted and made an on-record admission — exact wording not on record.
Nekima Levy Armstrong pleaded not guilty at her federal arraignment in St. Paul on FACE Act-related charges stemming from the Cities Church protest, alongside Don Lemon and other defendants. Source ↗