Claim:
An image being shared online in August 2024 authentically showed Adolf Hitler posing near-identically to Donald Trump in a separate, authentic photo captured after his attempted assassination.
Rating:
Fake ( About this rating? )
In August 2024 , social media users circulated a genuine photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump, taken after his attempted assassination in July 2024, alongside a purported image of Adolf Hitler.
(X user @SilenceDamned)
In the photos, Trump and Hitler appeared to strike similar poses, prompting a Threads user to share a post in early August 2024 that read: "I knew I had seen it before, so weird." In mid-July 2024, another user claimed Trump posed "like his idol," the former Nazi chancellor, implying both images were authentic.
Another example of the two images being shared together appeared on X in July 2024, with a Community Note attached claiming the photo of Hitler was AI-generated.
(X user @SandraHarney1)
However, in short, although the Trump image was authentic, the alleged photo of Hitler was not. We concluded it was not AI-generated, but it was, in fact, a composite image created using elements from several different photographs, including a flipped and altered image of Hitler; a photograph of chief propagandist of the Nazi Party Joseph Goebbels; an unidentified woman; and a Nazi flag. Because of this, we rated the image of Hitler as "Fake."
In early August, Hany Farid — a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specialized in digital forensics and image analysis — discussed the Hitler photo on LinkedIn.
Farid said he analyzed the image "with our GetReal Labs model trained to distinguish real from AI-generated images and found no evidence of AI-generation or manipulation." However, he did conclude that the image had tell-tale signs of photo manipulation and was "most likely" created using "an old-school Photoshop manipulation":
Shown below, however, is a visualization of the image/sensor noise in the historical photo. In an ideal imaging device, the pixel values of the digital image would accurately reflect the amount of light recorded by each photo detector. Real devices have imperfections, however, and these imperfections introduce noise in the image. The resulting noise pattern is typically random, fluctuating from image to image but generally uniform across the image.
Below you can see a much larger noise pattern (brighter regions) for three main parts of the image (the two people and the flag). This would not happen naturally and is a tell-tale sign of photo manipulation. While I can't say exactly how this image was created, it is most likely that this is an old-school Photoshop manipulation in which several photos were composited together.
(Hany Farid LinkedIn user)
Snopes analyzed all elements of the manipulated Hitler image and found that its primary component, the photograph of Hitler, had been horizontally flipped. Additionally, Hitler's arm had been cropped and repositioned to the opposite side of his body. Below, you can see a comparison between the edited image on the left, and an authentic photograph of Hitler on the right that was published by Getty Images (with the latter flipped horizontally for ease of comparison).
(X user @JaneotN, Getty Images)
The original photograph of Hitler was also available on Alamy , a stock photo website, with a caption reading:
Adolf Hitler speech, leader of the Nazi Party and Fuhrer of Germany making an impassioned speech with his fist clenched, wearing military uniform with Iron Cross and Swastika armband. The day on which he became commander in chief of Nazi Germanys armed forces. Nazi Germany 1934
(Alarmy.com)
The second element in the edited photo was Joseph Goebbels , one of Hitler's closest associates.
(X user @JaneotN, Getty Images)
Below you can see the original photograph of Goebbels that we also accessed via Getty Images :
(Getty Images)
The third figure in the composite image is a woman whose original photograph remains unidentified.
Other rumors Snopes has investigated involving Trump and Hitler include:
Sources:
"Adolf Hitler , German statesman, making a speech." Getty Images, 28 Oct. 2009, https://www.gettyimages.it/detail/fotografie-di-cronaca/adolf-hitler-german-statesman-making-a-speech-fotografie-di-cronaca/92425421 .
Emery, David. "There Is No Evidence Trump Ever Read 'Mein Kampf.'" Snopes, 20 Dec. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-mein-kampf-hitler/ .
Eva Braun | Facts, Biography, Picture, & Death | Britannica. 18 June 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eva-Braun .
Hany Farid | UC Berkeley School of Information. https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/people/hany-farid . Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.
Ibrahim, Nur. "No Proof Trump Said Hitler 'Did Some Good Things.'" Snopes, 10 May 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-hitler-good-things/ .
"In a World of Moving Pictures, Photographs Capture Indelible Moments in Trump Assassination Attempt." AP News, 15 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-photo-flag-iconic-bullet-f668b7dcc7b365a319a5daaac582775d .
Joseph Goebbels | Biography, Propaganda, Images, Death, & Facts | Britannica. 13 July 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Goebbels .
"Joseph Goebbels, German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda..." Getty Images, 22 Nov. 2016, https://www.gettyimages.it/detail/fotografie-di-cronaca/joseph-goebbels-german-politician-and-reich-fotografie-di-cronaca/624464574 .
Liles, Jordan. "Did Trump Echo Hitler with Remark About Migrants, 'Poisoning the Blood of Our Country'?" Snopes, 4 Oct. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//news/2023/10/04/trump-poison-blood-quote/ .
Limited, Alamy. Adolf Hitler Speech, Leader of the Nazi Party and Fuhrer of Germany Making an Impassioned Speech with His Fist Clenched, Wearing Military Uniform with Iron Cross and Swastika Armband. The Day on Which He Became Commander in Chief of Nazi Germanys Armed Forces. Nazi Germany 1934 Stock Photo - Alamy. https://www.alamy.com/adolf-hitler-speech-leader-of-the-nazi-party-and-fuhrer-of-germany-making-an-impassioned-speech-with-his-fist-clenched-wearing-military-uniform-with-iron-cross-and-swastika-armband-the-day-on-which-he-became-commander-in-chief-of-nazi-germanys-armed-forces-nazi-germany-1934-image572215816.html . Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.
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