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Hey Instagram, What's the 'Missing Context' on This Photo of Trump at Ground Zero?

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To most conservatives, it’s always been obvious that the current regime of “independent third-party fact-checkers” was nothing more than a band of political activists.

Fact-checking, to them, isn’t about fighting misinformation. It’s about deciding which opinions the public is allowed to hear.

There is perhaps no better example of this than Instagram’s move on Sunday to add a “missing context” claim to a photograph of former President Donald Trump at Ground Zero in 2001.

Jack Posobiec of Human Events posted the photograph to his Instagram account along with the text “No one told him to go. He went anyway.”

Trump was in fact at Ground Zero shortly following the attack. An NBC News interview from 2001 posted by Posobiec confirms as much.

Nevertheless, Instragam added the “Missing Context” label to the photograph. If clicked, the label redirects to two stories from two different independent fact-checkers.

The first story published by Lead Stories claims is titled “Fact Check: NO Evidence That Donald Trump Paid Hundreds of Workers To Help With Search And Rescue After 9/11.”

Should this label be removed and an apology issued?

Posobiec never made that claim in his own post.

The second fact-check, published by Snopes, claimed it is “unproven” that “Trump and hundreds of workers” searched for survivors after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.

Again, neither of these claims is made in the photograph, which is originally attributed to Getty Images.

Nevertheless, when social media users come across this photo on their feeds, they’ll see a “missing context” label, making them think that the photograph is in some way dishonest.

But Instagram continues to keep the label in place.

Related:
Fact Check: Did RFK Just 'Lay In To' Donald Trump?

So, if the two fact-checks have nothing to do with the photograph, what’s the missing context?

Perhaps Instagram wants every picture of Trump to have the label “Orange Man Bad” affixed to it.

Otherwise, someone may view this picture of the former president at Ground Zero and think that Trump is actually a human being who cares about others.

It’s likely Instagram would label such an idea as “misinformation.”

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Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations; helping guide the editorial direction of The Western Journal; and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Michael Austin graduated from Iowa State University in 2019. During his time in college, he volunteered for both PragerU and Live Action. After graduation, Michael went on to work as a freelance journalist for various entertainment news sites before joining The Western Journal as an intern in early 2020.

Shortly thereafter, Michael was hired on as a staff writer/reporter. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations; helping guide the editorial direction of The Western Journal; and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Entertainment News, Christian-Conservatism




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