Image of Trump 'watching news of South Korean president's arrest' is doctored

"President Trump is watching everything. It is said he was enraged by President Yoon's detention,"  read the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Facebook on January 20, 2025.

The image, appearing to show Trump watching news about Yoon's arrest, was shared hours after a South Korean court issued a warrant allowing for the suspended leader's extended detention (archived link).

Investigators are probing Yoon's short-lived bid to suspend civilian rule on December 3, 2024, which plunged South Korea into its worst political chaos in decades. He was impeached soon after.

Tens of thousands of his backers rallied outside the court and scuffled with police as they chanted support for Yoon; a district police official in Seoul told AFP that a total of 40 protesters were arrested for physically assaulting police officers, attacking a member of the media, or attempting to enter the court building, among other offences.

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Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, captured on January 20, 2025

Identical claims were shared elsewhere on Facebook here and here as well as on South Korean forum Naver Band, with comments on the posts suggesting several users believed the image was genuine.

"Please President Trump help free Korea, please," one user wrote. Another said: "We desperately pray President Trump comes to the aid of President Yoon Suk Yeol."

Yoon's supporters, including one of his party's lawmakers attending Trump's inauguration, have publicly expressed hope the incoming US president would express his support for the impeached South Korean leader (archived link).

Trump has not spoken publicly about Yoon since the impeachment, though CBS News -- citing anonymous sources with knowledge of events at his Mar-a-Lago estate -- reported that he had called the situation in South Korea "chaotic" and said he would meet Yoon "if they ever stop impeaching him" (archived link).

The image circulating online, however, is doctored.

Biden speech

A combination of keyword and reverse image searches on Google led to a similar photo published by the New York Times on August 5, 2024, in an article titled "Trump's Surreal Summer, in Photos" (archived link).

The photo, taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills, shows Trump watching Biden announcing his decision to bow out of the presidential race. 

Its caption read: "Trump watched Biden's address to the nation from his plane after a rally in Charlotte."

Below is a screenshot comparison between the doctored image shared on Facebook (left) and the photo published by the New York Times (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the doctored image shared on Facebook (left) and the photo published by the New York Times (right)

Mills was interviewed in the story, where he was quoted as saying: "In this photo, Trump is witnessing history himself. He's part of the history, but he's also watching it unfold."

Biden withdrew from the US presidential election and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee in an Oval Office message on July 21, 2024 (archived link).

Trump ally Charlie Kirk posted a similar photo of Trump on X on July 25, 2024 (archived link).

News report about Yoon arrest

A separate keyword search using terms seen in the altered image's news chyron led to a segment aired by South Korean broadcaster TV Chosun, which was posted on their official YouTube channel on January 19, 2025 (archived link).

The segment used in the doctored image can be seen at the 40:04 mark.

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Screenshot of the segment from TV Chosun's broadcast that was used in the false posts

In the segment, a commentator speaks about the violent response shown by many of Yoon's supporters to the extension of the president's detention.

AFP previously debunked a similar doctored image purportedly showing Trump in a teleconference with Yoon ahead of the US presidential election.