In the United States, the electoral campaign continues in the run-up to the presidential election in November. This weekend, Donald Trump gathered his supporters for a large rally in the seaside resort of Wildwood, New Jersey. It was one of the Republican candidate’s first political rallies since his trial began. The Trump camp expected more than 40,000 people. On social networks, these supporters did not hesitate to inflate the figures, by diverting images.
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The photo is impressive! A huge crowd gathered in front of a stage set up by the sea. On the X account (formerly Twitter) of Roger Stone, a powerful American conservative lobbyist, this comment: “ New Jersey is in play for Donald Trump. Could Joe Biden attract such a crowd? » Same Tone on an account close to the American extreme right, which wonders if Biden “ could do the same ». On these two accounts alone, the image has been viewed nearly 1.5 million times.
Copacabana, not New Jersey
After checking, we see that this photo has been taken out of context. Several elements can put us on the track. No red caps in Republican colors, no American flags, and above all a natural setting that has nothing to do with New Jersey. Quite quickly, contributors warned against manipulation. The scene would have been filmed on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a concert and not in Wildwood, during the Trump rally.
A giant concert, not a meeting
Verification work by comparing images, carried out by RFI, makes it possible to precisely date and geolocate the scene.
It dates back precisely to February 18, 2006. The AFP archives attest to this. This is an image from the giant Rolling Stones concert in Rio.
At the time, 1.5 million fans attended, far more than Trump’s rally last weekend. This is clearly fake news pushed by the former president’s political entourage.
Images of the Wildwood gathering are available on social media and make the comparison easy. The recipe is the same as eight years ago, when Donald Trump was elected: patriotic tunes, conspiratorial messages and red caps…
Trump at a meeting yesterday in New Jersey: “we have a lot more people here than Springsteen in his concerts!”
So, no… pic.twitter.com/hTOpjbP87a— Grégory Philipps (@gregphil) May 12, 2024