Does a real photo show Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson, together? No, that's not true: This image was made by combining three individual photos taken at different locations on different days. Not only were the subjects from three images collaged together, but some elements in the source photos were digitally altered, notably the chest area of the Musk and Trump photos.
The edited image was posted on X (archived here) on October 24, 2024. It was captioned:
Hmmm...I suggest you lay off the estrogen, gentlemen.
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Oct 29 13:47:24 2024 UTC)
The scene pictured above never happened. Using reverse image searches, Lead Stories was able to locate the original images. Then, using Adobe Photoshop, we sized the original images to match the figures in the edited image (pictured below center). This composite image will open larger in a new window.
(Source: Lead Stories composite image with X and YouTube screenshots taken on Tue Oct 29 16:52:51 2024 UTC)
The source images
The photo of Musk and YouTuber Joe Tegtmeyer (pictured above left) was posted on X (archived here) on June 8, 2024, by Ellie in Space, whose bio says she is an "independent citizen journalist." The photo appears to have been taken in Starbase, Texas, on June 6, 2024, on the same day as the SpaceX Starship flight test 4, when Ellie in Space interviewed Musk.
The image of Trump (above center) can be seen as a still frame at the 0:20 second mark in a YouTube video posted on October 22, 2024, and in the screenshot below. The video was filmed at a McDonald's in Feasterville, Pennsylvania on October 20, 2024, when Trump made a planned stop while campaigning in the state. As Trump entered the restaurant he said he was looking for a job. The image captured the following moment as he was in the process of removing his suit jacket before donning a McDonald's apron.
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Tue Oct 29 17:57:00 2024 UTC)
The image of Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina and the Republican candidate for governor in 2024, was posted on X (archived here) on Memorial Day, May 27, 2024, by Hal Weatherman, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of North Carolina in 2024. Weatherman appears to the right of Trump in the composite image by Lead Stories, above. The original photo (above right) was flipped on a horizontal axis so in the edited image Robinson is facing to the left.
Altered images
In this photo collage, the images of both Musk and Trump have been altered in the chest area. The same type of warp tool appears to have been used on both to feminize their appearance. In doing this digital photo edit, when the sides of the chest were enlarged, the central area shrank. On Musk, the shadow in the center of the chest is narrower, and on Trump, this is evident in the indented necktie. The waistline area on Trump was also enlarged in this edit, and the faces of all three men were somewhat blurred.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims involving the 2024 U.S. presidential election can be found here. More fact checks on claims concerning Donald Trump are here and concerning Elon Musk are here.
