White House posts digitally altered arrest photo of Minnesota protester
The White House posted a digitally altered photograph of Minnesota protester and lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong following her arrest, making her appear to be crying compared to an authentic version showing her composed. AI detection analysis confirmed the image showed signs of manipulation, and generative AI tools could recreate the alterations.
What happened
The White House posted a digitally altered image of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer arrested for helping to interrupt a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday. The altered image showed her appearing to sob, with her skin darkened compared to an earlier version posted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem showing her composed.
The New York Times ran both images through Resemble.AI, an AI detection system, which concluded that Noem's image was real but the White House's version showed signs of manipulation on Armstrong's face. The Times was able to create images nearly identical to the White House version using generative AI tools Gemini and Grok.
Index analysis
The doctored photograph could potentially hinder the Justice Department's prosecution of Levy Armstrong.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.