Fact check: Fabricated Donald Trump mugshot spreads after historic arraignment in New York

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·3 min read
22

The claim: Image shows a mugshot of Trump

An April 4 Facebook post (direct link, archived link) shows a purported mugshot of former President Donald Trump.

"On a level from 1-10 how happy are you that Trump has been arrested?" reads the post's caption.

The post generated over 100 shares in less than a day. Similar posts have spread widely on Facebook.

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Our rating: Altered

Trump did not have his mugshot taken on April 4 when he was placed under arrest. Forensics experts said numerous features show the image is fabricated.

Trump did not have a mugshot taken

On April 4, Trump was placed under arrest at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

But the picture in the post is not a real mugshot of Trump.

A mugshot is a photo used by law enforcement for identification purposes.

But under New York state law, law enforcement officials have discretion over the decision to take a mugshot, according to the New York Times. Trump was required to provide fingerprints but was not subjected to a mugshot or handcuffs, as USA TODAY reported.

This is likely due to Trump's public status, the determination he would not flee and security concerns posed by having his photo taken, the Times reported.

Fact check: Photos showing Trump arrested by law enforcement are computer-generated

Forensics experts told USA TODAY there are several indications the image in the post was manipulated.

“We see Trump in clothing we have almost never seen him in before,” V.S. Subrahmanian, a computer science professor at Northwestern University, said. “This image also includes blurred lettering in the background which is not consistent with real printed lettering.”

Trump appeared at the Manhattan courtroom in a blue blazer, white shirt and red tie.

David Brady, a professor of optical sciences at the University of Arizona, said the image had the markings of a "traditional cut and paste job."

"One can see horizontal artifacts at the base of the neck suggesting Trump's head was pasted in." Brady said. "Fully ai generated images of such detailed situations remain a challenge. Combining human manipulation with Photoshop is still faster for most people."

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.

The Associated Press and VERIFY also debunked this claim.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fabricated Trump mugshot spreads after arraignment

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