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UNKNOWN
REPRESENTATION:
On April 27, 2015, FOX13 Memphis posted this picture on their Facebook page. “BALTIMORE IN FLAMES,” read the caption. “A massive fire has broken out in a building that was under construction and the Baltimore mayor’s spokesman says it’s related to the riots…”
REALITY:
The photo was taken in Venezuela a year prior. A user on Imgur, a comment-based online image hosting service, exposed FOX13 Memphis’ mistake two days after the original posting.
FOX13 issued a public apology: “We messed up. As violent protests broke out in Baltimore Monday night, a member of our team posted a photo of buildings burning and people rioting. It wasn’t Baltimore. Our team didn’t fact check the picture the way we should have. We know you depend on FOX13 for accurate information. We will work to hold ourselves to a higher standard as we post to this page.”
The photo was taken in Valencia, Venezuela during a period of unrest in February of 2014. The photo was shared by several Twitter users, including New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, to show what was happening in Venezuela. The photographer remains unknown.
Learn more:
• See the image used on a Venezuelan blog
• Read the original post on Imgur