Does an authentic photo show Secret Service agents without earpieces during their response to the shooting at a Donald Trump rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: The earpieces can be seen in the original picture captured by Getty Images staff photographer Anna Moneymaker. The image in an X post that claims Secret Service agents were not wearing their radio earpieces was altered to obscure the clear plastic earpieces.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) where it was published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 25, 2024. It opened:
WTAF? Can this be true?
The resolution of the image in the X post is low, resulting in the image being blurry. Because of this, the earpieces made of clear plastic, that are already difficult to see, appear nonexistent. Further, the color balance of the original image was altered, which obscures the earpieces in the version used in the X post .
The image was altered by lowering its saturation and increasing its brightness, amplifying the invisibility of the clear plastic earpieces. This is particularly noticeable from the color of the sky being paler and brighter than the original picture captured by Anna Moneymaker.
Here is a zoom-in on the earpieces that can be observed on the original picture, taken by the photographer for Getty:
Moreover, photo coverage of the event by reliable news outlets from a variety of angles show the agents wearing earpieces.
Even if the altered color and lighting of the blurred image contribute to hide the earpieces, the shadow from the earpiece of the Secret Service agent directly in front of Trump can still be seen in the doctored image.
In the X post making the claim, although its light and color are manipulated as well as being blurred, the shadow from the earpiece of the Secret Service agent directly in front of Trump is still visible:
Trump apparently never went to the hospital?!?!
