A post shared on Threads claims NBC News has digitally altered photos taken during the attempted assassination against former President Donald Trump to show a U.S. flag. 

 

Post by @randi.mayem.singer

View on Threads

 

Verdict: False 

The post is inaccurate. The image was taken by a photographer for AP News, and many other photos from other news outlets provide evidence that the flag was present at the event.

Fact Check:

The Secret Service has increased security measures around Trump after receiving intel about an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, according to CNN. It is believed that this bears no connection to the man who attempted to assassinate Trump last Saturday at the rally, the outlet reported.

A Threads post shows a compilation of various images during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in which the assassination attempt took place. Two images have logos for CNN and Fox News. Another image shows Trump surrounded by Secret Service agents as an American flag can be seen in the background and is the only image in the post in which the flag is seen.

“DID NBC PHOTOSHOP THEIR IMAGES TO ADD THE U.S. FLAG?” overlaid text reads.

“This has been bugging me since it happened. The viral pic has a flag,” the caption reads. “There was no flag behind Trump and the SS. Who photoshopped in the flag?”

The post is inaccurate, however. It’s important to note that the image with the “NBC News” text was actually taken by AP News photographer Evan Vucci, not an NBC News photographer. (RELATED: Did Donald Trump Say ‘I Like Presidents Who Didn’t Get Shot’ In July 2015?)

There is evidence that a flag was actually present. Getty Images pictures show that a large flag was suspended between two cranes high up in the air—this height could make it so that it’s not always visible in photos. An article from AP News shows a wide shot of the flag above the stage and another Vucci image in which Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents and the flag is visible in the top right corner of the shot.