Donald Trump showed Cyril Ramaphosa a fake picture during their White House meeting on Wednesday. The American president claimed the image showed dead white farmers from South Africa. Trump held up a printed article with a photograph and made false statements about mass killings. The picture actually came from Reuters video footage taken in Congo, not South Africa. Humanitarian workers were lifting body bags in the Congolese city of Goma after fighting.
Reuters filmed the scene following deadly battles between government forces and M23 rebels backed by Rwanda. Video journalist Djaffar Al Katanty shot the footage after negotiating access with rebel groups and aid organizations. The American Thinker website published the misleading blog post that Trump used during his meeting. The conservative magazine's managing editor, Andrea Widburg, admitted Trump had misidentified the image source. Reuters fact-checkers verified that their original video showed victims from the Congo conflict, not South African farmers.
Al Katanty said seeing Trump display his footage as false evidence came as a complete shock. The journalist had worked hard to gain access to the dangerous area during the M23 assault. American Thinker linked to the original Reuters video on YouTube but failed to caption the image correctly. The White House refused to comment on Trump's use of the misleading information. Trump falsely presented the Congo footage as proof of attacks against white South Africans.
Reuters filmed the scene following deadly battles between government forces and M23 rebels backed by Rwanda. Video journalist Djaffar Al Katanty shot the footage after negotiating access with rebel groups and aid organizations. The American Thinker website published the misleading blog post that Trump used during his meeting. The conservative magazine's managing editor, Andrea Widburg, admitted Trump had misidentified the image source. Reuters fact-checkers verified that their original video showed victims from the Congo conflict, not South African farmers.
Al Katanty said seeing Trump display his footage as false evidence came as a complete shock. The journalist had worked hard to gain access to the dangerous area during the M23 assault. American Thinker linked to the original Reuters video on YouTube but failed to caption the image correctly. The White House refused to comment on Trump's use of the misleading information. Trump falsely presented the Congo footage as proof of attacks against white South Africans.
