The White House Publishes Manipulated Photo of Protester Being Arrested

Jan 23, 2026

Matt Growcoot

A woman in a black jacket. — Kristi Noem shared the photo on the left before the White House tweeted out the edited version on the right.

The official X account for The White House published a digitally altered photo of a protester being arrested in Minnesota.

Nekima Levy Armstrong was one of three people arrested for their part in disrupting a church service in St Paul.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tweeted a photo of Armstrong being led away by a law enforcement agent in handcuffs yesterday. And then about half an hour later, the official X account of the White House published what looks like the exact same photo, except the expression on Armstrong’s face has been dramatically changed.

A woman with braided hair, wearing a black outfit and jacket, is being escorted indoors by law enforcement officers. The officer to her left wears casual clothes and a visible badge. Faces are blurred for privacy. — DHS

In the first photo, Armstrong has a look of detachment and defiance on her face, while in the second photo tweeted by the White House, she looks upset with tears streaming down her face. The Guardian notes that she also appears to have darker skin.

The White House post was slapped with an X Community Note stating it is “digitally altered” and that the White House failed to add a disclaimer to the post saying it had been manipulated.

A woman with a crying face. — The White House also added text labeling Armstrong a “far-left agitator.”

The deputy communications director, Kaelan Dorr, tweeted a message on X addressing the altered image.

“YET AGAIN to the people who feel the need to reflexively defend perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country I share with you this message: Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he says.

With White House officials offering no explanation on how the image was altered, it can only be assumed that it was an AI-powered application. Since Trump resumed office, the White House has enthusiastically used AI to communicate. In October, Poynter reported that the official account for the White House had used AI in no less than 14 posts.

Trump himself is also a proponent of AI. Last year he shared an AI-generated video of his vision for Gaza, which included giant gold statues of the president, Elon Musk tucking into a local Palestinian dish, and gleaming skyscrapers standing where there are currently piles of rubble after the most recent war with Israel.

Image credits: DHS / White House