White House photographer deleted his own X account, was not 'kicked off' | Fact check

Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Elon Musk deleted former White House photographer’s X account

A July 28 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of former President Donald Trump captured two weeks after an assassination attempt against him. It was shared as part of a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter, made by former White House photographer Pete Souza.

“Elon Musk deleted Pete’s Twitter account because he posted this picture clearly showing Trump’s uninjured ear,” the post’s caption reads in part, referring to the platform’s billionaire owner. “Soooo, does anyone still want to pretend that Elon didn't buy Twitter to interfere in this year's election?!”

A version of the claim on Facebook was shared more than 400 times in three days before it was deleted. Similar versions also circulated widely on Instagram, on Threads and on X.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Trump shooting fact-check roundup: False claims about rally attack spread online

Our rating: False

No one who works for X deleted Souza’s account. He deactivated it himself because of criticism he received after sharing the image, he said in an Instagram post.

'I was not kicked off Twitter'

Souza – the chief White House photographer under two presidents, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama – posted to X an Associated Press photo of Trump boarding his plane July 27 along with a caption that reads in part, “Look closely at his ear that was ‘hit’ by a bullet from an AR-15 assault rifle.” By the following day, Souza’s X account was gone.

But the claim in the social media posts is false. The account was not deleted by Musk or anyone else at X. Souza deactivated it himself, he explained in a post from his verified Instagram account.

Fact check: No, this clip doesn't show bullet hitting Trump's ear

“I want to make it clear that I was not kicked off Twitter,” Souza wrote in the July 29 post. “I kicked myself off.”

After he shared the image, social media users criticized the post, claiming it shows Trump's left ear, Souza wrote. The former president's right ear – which is visible in the AP image – was bloodied after the July 13 shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania and was bandaged during his appearance two days later at the Republican National Convention. The FBI confirmed July 26 that Trump's ear was struck by a bullet.

In the AP image shared by Souza, the ear is shown without a bandage. Souza said he responded to the criticism by sharing a screengrab of a similar image captured and posted by Doug Mills, a New York Times photographer once described by Trump as a “genius." That led to blowback for both photographers, Souza said.

“So I de-activated my Twitter account,” he wrote. “It was a gut decision, made only by me.”

USA TODAY has debunked false claims that Trump wore a bandage on the “wrong ear,” that an image shows the Secret Service agents smiling as they surrounded him and that a video shows the man identified by authorities as the gunman.

USA TODAY reached out to spokespeople for X and to several social media users who shared the claim but did not immediately receive responses.

Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk didn't boot veteran photographer from X | Fact check

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next