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Trump shows doctored photo to accuse migrant: blizzard over ABC interview

President raises image of man deported for MS-13 ties, but evidence shown on TV turns out to be digitally altered. Sparks fly with journalist Moran

Donald Trump ends up in the eye of the storm for showing, as evidence in support of a serious allegation, a visibly photoshopped photo. The episode was staged during an interview with ABC in the middle of the Oval Office, where the president addressed the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran deported in recent months and now detained in his home country. The man, married to an American citizen, is at the centre of a legal challenge to the legality of his deportation.

According to Trump, Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang affiliate. ‘On his knuckles he had a tattoo that said MS-13,’ the president said, pointing to an image already circulated on his Truth social network as proof. Journalist Terry Moran, author of the interview, was quick to reply that the photo in question had been digitally altered: ‘It was photoshopped’.

But Trump did not back down. ‘He had MS-13 on his hand. Do I have to show you the photo? They gave it to you today, you’re doing the interview even though I never heard your name… You’re not very nice…,’ he retorted, continuing to insist on the authenticity of his version.

The image at the centre of the controversy shows the man’s hand with four symbols: a marijuana leaf, a smiley, a cross and a skull. None of these is a literal tattoo with the letters MS-13. However, in Trump’s published version, letters and numbers – M, S, 1 and 3 – appear in overlays, evidently added during editing to explain, or perhaps force, an interpretation of the symbols.

The episode has raised criticism from several fronts. On the one hand, Abrego Garcia’s family and lawyers contest the deportation order, arguing that the man has no connection with criminal gangs. On the other, the president’s nonchalant use of manipulated material fuels a new front of discussion on the transparency of institutional communication and the dissemination of altered content from official sources.

Trump took the opportunity to attack the media again: ‘That’s why nobody trusts journalists anymore,’ he said in a dismissive tone, avoiding going back to the substance of the dispute. Meanwhile, the photo remains published without any disclaimer on Truth Social, further blurring the line between propaganda, truth and manipulation.

The case, already complex from a legal point of view, has turned into an emblem of the current American political climate, where the public narrative risks being driven more by graphic suggestions than concrete evidence.

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