A still of verified footage showing a moment when a U.S. immigration agent pointed a gun at the head of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis has been altered to highlight an unknown object in Pretti’s right hand. The edited image went viral, with many online speculating it was a gun.
One online post, opens new tab furthering the misleading narrative said, “This is a photo of Alex Pretti frozen. Notice his right hand holding a gun.”
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Reuters Image
Other posts shared the altered image to criticize, opens new tab the shooting, characterizing, opens new tab it as an execution.
The image, however, has visual inconsistencies suggesting the use of AI, including that a kneeling agent is headless.
The altered scene does not match, opens new tab the details of a similar frame from authentic bystander video verified by Reuters.
J. Rosenbaum, an AI researcher, opens new tab at RMIT University in Melbourne, told Reuters the viral image is AI.
In an email, Rosenbaum pointed to other visual inconsistencies, such as an oddly shaped beanie worn by one of the agents and another having a mismatched sleeve.
The headless kneeling agent also appears to be holding a firearm in “a very impractical way in an undefined gloved hand,” Rosenbaum noted, adding that the “contraption” worn by that figure appears to be poorly defined.
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The Department of Homeland Security characterized the shooting as self-defense by a Border Patrol agent, saying that shots were fired because Pretti approached with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him. Pretti’s death marks the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minnesota this month.
Earlier footage of the scene obtained and verified by Reuters shows Pretti holding a phone in his hand as he tried to aid a protester who was pushed to the ground by an agent.
The White House said on January 26 that President Donald Trump does not want to see people getting hurt or killed on the streets of the U.S. but will not back down from efforts to deport “violent criminal illegal aliens” from Minnesota.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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