This video of former US President Donald Trump is being shared on social media by right-wing extremists in the US.
In the clip, Trump reportedly speaks on the birthday of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a police officer during the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.
“Reached on that terrible January 6th Ashli the United States Capitol. Innocent. She was shot and tragically killed. “
But the video has been manipulated.
Ex-US President Trump’s speech will be shown in full on a screen as part of the “Texas Loves Ashli Babbitt” event.
But there is a crucial difference to the video that spreads on the Internet – because the word “innocent” is inserted with an obvious cut.
“Reached on that terrible January 6th Ashli the United States Capitol. Innocent. She was shot and tragically killed. “
This short passage is not included in the video shown at the memorial event.
According to media reports in the USA, a personality cult has developed around the shot Ashli Babbitt in right-wing circles, which she venerates as a martyr.
Trump does not mention the violent storming of the Capitol by his supporters in his video message.
It is not clear why the video, in which Trump is invariably positive about Ashli Babbitt, was manipulated in the first place. Apparently, the ex-president’s statements were not positive enough for the forger.
How do we examine videos for manipulation in the editorial office? It is important to take a look at the details. The individual frames of a video often reveal whether a video has been edited. We take a close look at each picture and enlarge individual sections. Indications of a fake are, for example: a lack of motion blur, unnatural shadows or cutting errors. At stern, the general rule is: Seriousness over speed. We always double-check facts and material carefully before we publish them. To do this, we work with the cross-editorial “Verification Team” together with RTL, NTV, RTL2 and Radio NRW.