Trump blunder: Misused DRC footage as South Africa evidence
During a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Donald Trump used images from the DRC, claiming they depicted the killings of white people in South Africa. The footage actually originates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Key information
- Donald Trump used footage from the DRC as proof of murders in South Africa.
- The footage is from clashes in the city of Goma in the DRC.
- The White House has not commented on the situation.
During a meeting in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump presented South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a screenshot from a video, which was allegedly meant to show mass killings of white residents in South Africa.
"These are all white farmers that are being buried," Trump said on Wednesday, during the meeting with Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, holding an article with the attached screenshot. According to Reuters, the footage actually originated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The footage Trump presented as evidence was published by Reuters on 3rd February. It showed humanitarian workers carrying bags with bodies in the city of Goma, where bloody clashes were taking place between government forces and the M23 militia supported by Rwanda.
Journalists express surprise
Andrea Widburg, a journalist for the American Thinker website, admitted that Trump "misidentified" an image in her material. The video operator, Djaffar Al Katanty, expressed his surprise at seeing the US President using his material inappropriately.
In view of all the world, President Trump used my image, used what I filmed in DRC to try to convince President Ramaphosa that in his country, white people are being killed by Black people, commented Al Katanty, as quoted by the Reuters.
Despite the controversy, the White House has not responded to journalists' requests for comment on this matter. This situation has sparked a wave of criticism and questions about the accuracy of the information presented by the US President.
