Image shows Texas couple, not alleged killer of US politician
The picture shows a man posing with a woman in a shirt that says: "I think therefore I am... a DEMOCRAT."
It rocketed across platforms in posts claiming it showed the man wanted for shooting lawmakers in Minnesota, who was captured on June 15.
Image
Screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 17, 2025
Image
Screenshot of an Instagram post taken June 17, 2025
Boelter allegedly killed Melissa Hortman, leader of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and her husband Mark. Boelter also allegedly shot state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who are recovering in the hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.
Acting US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joe Thompson told a press conference on June 16 that Boelter faces six federal charges, including two counts of murder by firearm -- punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty (archived here).
Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the shooting spree, which Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called a "politically motivated assassination" (archived here).
A notebook containing the names of other lawmakers and potential targets was found inside a car left by Boelter at the Hortmans' home, renewing fears of growing political violence in the United States.
Certain social media posts initially claimed close ties between Boelter and Walz, despite a lack of evidence supporting a connection to the progressive governor who ran for the White House with Kamala Harris. Additionally, the circulating photo is not of the suspected shooter or his wife.
Reverse image searches surfaced several posts on X saying the picture actually shows Lillie Schechter, former chair of the Texas Democratic Party, posing with her husband (archived here, here and here).
fran, a member of the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee (archived here), posted on X to debunk the claim saying: "That's @lillieschechter and her husband in front of Houston City Hall. They have literally no relation to Vance Boelter whatsoever" (archived here).
Further keyword searches found a June 16 Facebook post (archived here) from Brian Trachtenberg stating that he is the person pictured in the "pro-gun, pro-resistance" shirt, which he says he wore to a "No Kings" rally in Houston.
"Someone took that pic, said it was a pic of the MN shooter of Dem lawmakers, and launched it far and wide. All over the right wing social sphere, I am Vance Boelter, and Lillie Schechter, who has devoted her life to peace, love, and Democracy (and who doesn't share my views in guns), is his allegedly complicit wife," he wrote.
Image
Screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 17, 2025
Photos of city hall in Houston match the color and window pattern of the behind Schechter and Trachtenberg.
Image
Screenshot of the image circulating on social media (L) next to an AFP photo taken by Cécile Clocheret of a May 2024 protest in front of Houston city hall with the same windows outlined by AFP in both images
The picture at the demonstration also matches Schechter's appearance in photos on her website (archived here).
Image
Screenshot of a photo on Lillie Schechter's website (L) and the image shared on social media
AFP reached out to Schechter and Trachtenberg for additional information, but no response was forthcoming.
appeared in a federal court in Saint Paul, Minnesota on June 16 and a federal judge ordered him to remain in custody, according to local media (archived here).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AFP
2 days ago
- AFP
Photo shows ammunition seizure, not bullets sold in South Sudan market
'A normal day in SouthSudan. Bullets sold in the market along side cereals (sic),' reads an X post published on August 11, 2025, and reposted more than 1,900 times. Image Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on August 12, 2025 The image shows a woman sitting on the ground next to sacks of grains and piles of bullets. The claim was also shared on Instagram and on Facebook here and here. South Sudan conflict South Sudan has endured decades of conflict, driven by civil war and inter-communal conflict (archived here). While the signing of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) brought hopes of peace, implementation has been slow, and the country continues to face violence (archived here and here). The human toll remains consequential. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 1.9 million people are displaced within the country, while over 2.3 million others are refugees in neighbouring countries (archived here). Additionally, South Sudan is a transit hub for smuggling illegal goods and ammunition from countries including Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo due to its porous borders (archived here). To curb the influx of weapons that could fuel further fighting, the UN Security Council introduced an arms embargo in 2018. While this has curtailed official arms dealing, small arms and ammunition continue to flow in the country (archived here and here). However, online posts claiming to show bullets being sold in a South Sudanese market are misleading. Smuggled ammunition AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and established that while the photo was indeed taken in South Sudan, it has been shared in the wrong context on social media. The image was featured in an August 8, 2025, article by South Sudanese media outlet Radio Tamazuj with the headline: 'Woman arrested in Tonj South County for smuggling bullets' (archived here). According to the report, the woman, only identified as Aguek, was caught by security personnel at a checkpoint trying to smuggle 1,121 bullets hidden in sorghum sacks from Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to Warrap's Tonj East County. Image Screenshot of the Radio Tamazuj article, taken on August 12, 2025 The incident was reported by other local media outlets (archived here and here). The image, alongside others, was also published on Facebook by Tonj South County Commissioner's press unit on August 7, 2025 (archived here). 'County authority apprehended the woman who sneaked ammunition in Alol of Tonj South county,' reads the post. 'An operation carried out by Tonj South County security forces resulted in the arrest of people who were identified as conflict instigators, arms sneakers and the confiscation of a major cache of ammunition mixed with sorghum.' AFP's South Sudan correspondent also confirmed that 'ammunition is not sold in open markets across the country.'
AFP
2 days ago
- AFP
Video of crowds cheering on Israel's soldiers is AI-generated
"Israeli soldiers are marching from their country to complete the military occupation of Gaza, while Israeli citizens are welcoming, praising, and supporting them," reads the Burmese-language caption of a Facebook video shared on August 12, 2025. The eight-second clip, which was viewed more than 65,000 times, appears to show crowds waving Israeli flags and cheering on soldiers and military vehicles. Image Screenshot of false Facebook post captured on August 14, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The video was on Facebook, after Israel announced a new plan for its military to "take control" of Gaza City, triggering a wave of criticism from both inside and outside the country (archived link). More than 22 months into the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the country is gripped by a yawning divide pitting those demanding an end to the conflict and a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see the Palestinian militants vanquished once and for all. Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Out of 251 hostages captured during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,722 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable. The video, however, was generated by AI. Made with Veo A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same clip posted on TikTok on July 31, where its Indonesian-language reads: "Hundreds of Israeli military are ready to take revenge against Iranian attack." But the search engine's "About this image" feature indicates the video was generated with Google AI. A Google spokesperson told AFP that when a SynthID watermark is detected, it indicates that "the image has been generated or modified with AI". SynthID is an image identification tool launched in 2023 by Google's DeepMind AI lab, which detects digital watermarks contained in images generated with Google AI (archived here and here). Both videos are also superimposed with the same watermarks -- the name of the TikTok account across the middle of the video, and the word "Veo" in the bottom-right corner. Veo is Google's video-generation platform, which allows users to create eight-second clips (archived link). Image Screenshots showing the video flagged as being made by Google AI (left) and the Veo watermark (right) An analysis of the video also shows it contains visual anomalies indicative of AI-generated content, including blurred and distorted faces and misshapen limbs. Despite the rapid progress of generative AI, errors such as these are often the clearest sign of fabricated videos of images. Image Screenshots from the falsely shared video with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP AFP has previously debunked other misleading claims about the war in Gaza that relied on AI-generated content.
AFP
2 days ago
- AFP
Footage shows truck dodging landslide in Indonesia, not India
"Landslide in Chamba: Truck narrowly escapes, driver cheats death. Watching the video of this landslide in Chamba, it's clear the driver's luck was on his side," reads part of a -language Facebook post shared August 1, 2025. The video, which racked up more than 132,000 views, shows a truck escaping debris falling off a mountain. Image Screenshot of the false X post captured August 11, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The clip circulated with similar claims in posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads as torrential rain hit Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states in India's northern Himalayan region in July and August, killing at least 69 people (archived link). On August 5, a flash flood driving a torrent of mud smashed into a town in northern Uttarakhand state, killing at least four people with around 100 others missing (archived link). Scores of die each year during the rainy season due to flash floods and landslides across India ( ). But the clip actually shows a landslide on the Trans-Sumatra Highway in Indonesia's West Sumatra province. A Google reverse image search of keyframes from the clip found a longer video published May 20, 2024 on YouTube, which credits Reuters and the video agency Newsflare (archived link). The clip, titled "Truck escapes landslide after prolonged heavy rainfall in Indonesia", was flipped horizontally in the false social media posts. Image Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in the false post (L) and the video published on YouTube The original video published by Newsflare is captioned: "A tanker truck loaded with CPO narrowly escaped being crushed by a landslide in West Sumatra in Indonesia on May 17. This incident was witnessed by residents who were also passing through the area (archived link)." The caption adds that no casualties were reported. Media outlets CNN Indonesia and SINDOnews published the clip in reports about the incident (archived and here). Hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes into two districts on Sumatra island on May 11, 2024, while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques ( ). The death toll from flash floods and cold lava flow from a volcano in western Indonesia was reported at 41, with 17 more missing on May 13. An AFP journalist in Indonesia confirmed the blue-and-white vehicle seen escaping the landslide is a fuel tanker operated by the Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas company Pertamina, which has previously commented on the colour-coding (archived link). AFP has previously debunked other claims related to India's monsoon.
