'Nope, not again': Manipulated images used to sell anti-Trump shirts

Published on January 31, 2024 at 23:03
5 min read
By Natalie WADE, AFP USA

Images shared across social media appear to show an array of Democratic politicians posing with an anti-Donald Trump T-shirt that says: "Nope. Not again." But the photos are doctored; the original pictures do not show the design, and there is no evidence the leaders have promoted it.

"No more Trump. I love this tee," say posts sharing images of US President Joe Biden, former president Barack Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff supposedly holding or wearing iterations of the shirt.

The letter "o" in the word "Nope" is wearing a red tie and hair reminiscent of former president Trump.

Screenshots of Facebook posts taken January 31, 2023

Screenshots of Facebook posts taken January 31, 2023

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former congressman Beto O'Rourke have also appeared in Facebook posts linking to websites selling T-shirts with the same design.

The images circulated online around the January 23 New Hampshire primary election, in which Biden and Trump won their parties' respective contests. Polls show Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

AFP has previously debunked claims that pop star Taylor Swift was photographed wearing the same anti-Trump shirt. Like that image, the latest pictures circulating online are doctored.

Biden

A reverse image search surfaced a January 4, 2023 news article with a similar photo of Biden (archived here).

It was taken during a visit to a local restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio, where local news outlets reported Biden held up a promotional T-shirt for the eatery (archived here).

Biden posted a similar picture on X, formerly known as Twitter (archived here).

Stopped by Just Q’in for some BBQ and cobbler yesterday. pic.twitter.com/M4qG8PWeFt
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 5, 2023

Obama

A reverse image search shows the Obama picture circulating online was altered from a snapshot taken by AFP photographer Jewel Samad on October 23, 2009.

The unedited photo depicts Obama holding a T-shirt with a mathematical equation during a Massachusetts Institute of Technology tour.

US President Barack Obama holds a T-shirt given to him as he toured a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an institution that has been developing cutting edge clean energy technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 23, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (AFP / JEWEL SAMAD)

Harris, Emhoff

The images of Harris and Emhoff, her husband, are similarly doctored.

Getty Images photographer Kevin Dietsch took the original photo of the vice president in Washington in August 2023 (archived here). It shows Harris holding up a basketball jersey as she honors members of the Las Vegas Aces for winning the 2022 WNBA championships.

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 25: Las Vegas Aces' forward A'ja Wilson (L) and guard Chelsea Gray (R) present Vice President Kamala Harris with a jersey as Harris honors the 2022 WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces, during a ceremony in the East Room on August 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun in 4 games to win the 2022 championship. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Kevin Dietsch)

The real photo of Emhoff, meanwhile, was published on his X account in June 2023 (archived here). In it, he holds a T-shirt featuring Harris.

Picked up the new Kamala Harris Pride Tee. Order yours before the end of Pride Month: https://t.co/N7ZVNMq6c4 pic.twitter.com/aChB8rzOjy
— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) June 30, 2023

Tom Hanks

Celebrities have also appeared in doctored photos promoting the anti-Trump shirt.

A January 23, 2024 post on X appears to show actor Tom Hanks wearing the item. Other posts sharing the image have spread on TikTok.

Screenshot of a post on X taken January 30, 2024

AFP could not locate the original picture of Hanks. However, a forensic analysis using the tool InVid WeVerify indicates the logo on the shirt is altered.

Other manipulated images of Hanks wearing the shirt with different graphics on it appear elsewhere online.

AFP previously debunked a series of posts advertising "Keep America Trumpless" T-shirts with doctored photos of Ben Affleck and other celebrities.