Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Photo shows former US president Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, was in the crowd when a gunman fired at his father during an election campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
Fact
Viral photo shows Barron from his father’s campaign rally in Florida on July 9.
Several social media users are sharing a photo, claiming that it shows Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, present at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former US president was shot and injured in an assassination attempt on Saturday night that also killed a spectator and critically injured two others. The gunman was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper, authorities reportedly said.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this similar, but wider shot of Barron in front of the crowd, shared on Twitter by Chris Barcenas, the Miami-Dade State Committeeman Candidate, on June 10, 2024, which predates the assassination attempt at the July 13 rally. Similar tweets proving that the viral photo is before the Pennsylvania rally can be seen here and here.
We then ran a keyword search for “Barron Trump rally”, which led us to this Hindustan Times report, dated July 16, 2024, stating that the youngest child of the former president was present during his Florida rally, which happened right before the Butler event, while adding that questions arose regarding the safety and location of Donald Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, and Barron at the time of the attack
“The event comes on the heels of Trump introducing his and Melania’s only child at a rally for the first time in Florida where he praised him for his good looks and intelligence. Concerns started erupting whether Barron was present on Sunday and if he witnessed the incident. It has been reported that Melania and their 18-year-old son were not present during the rally, as Trump did not introduce either at the start of the event,” read the HT report. Reports stating that Barron Trump was present at the Florida rally on July 9, 2024, can be seen here, here and here.
“The youngest son of former President Donald Trump made his debut on the campaign trail. Barron Trump appeared at his father’s rally in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday night, where he stood for a sustained applause amid praise from Donald,” read a Fox News report, dated July 10, 2024.
Also, the former First Lady released a statement hours after the assassination attempt, where she did not say she and Barron were at the Pennsylvania rally. Newschecker also did not find any credible news reports stating that Barron attended the campaign rally in Pennsylvania. We also came across the PolitiFact’s report, dated July 15, 2024, stating that the viral photo of Barron Trump was taken at a July 9 Donald Trump campaign rally in Doral, Florida, four days before a gunman fired at former president, while adding that it found no credible news reports, photos or video footage of Barron Trump attending the July 13 campaign rally.
Conclusion
Viral photo does not show Barron Trump in the crowd during the Pennsylvania rally shooting, image is from the Florida event.
Result: False
Source
X post, @VoteBarcenas, July 10, 2024
Hindustan Times report, July 16, 2024
Fox News report, July 10, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
