Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest - using photos of South America
Source: The Guardian
Mon 6 Oct 2025 21.32 EDT
Last modified on Mon 6 Oct 2025 22.18 EDT

The image used by Oregon Republicans to show Portland burning to the ground is actually from South America. Photograph: tirc83/Getty Images
Before a federal judge blocked Donald Trump from putting members of Californias national guard on the streets of Portland, Oregon, late on Sunday, the states Republican party welcomed the planned deployment in celebratory posts on social media.
President Trump on Sunday deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon after a judge ruled that the Oregon National Guard could not be deployed to keep federal facilities and personnel in Portland safe, Oregon Republicans wrote on their official Facebook, Instagram and X accounts.
On all three platforms, the statement was illustrated with an image that seemed designed to support Trumps false claim that protests against immigration sweeps in Portland are so out of control that the city is burning to the ground. On one side of the image, a line of police officers held riot shields; on the other, a crowd of young men held up flares that lit up a night sky filled with red smoke.

A screenshot of a post on X from the Oregon Republican party, posted on Sunday. Photograph: X
On closer inspection, however, it turned out that the image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/06/oregon-republicans-protest-photo-south-america
durablend
(8,777 posts)2naSalit
(98,952 posts)ProudMNDemocrat
(20,391 posts)That's PROPAGANDA!
Baitball Blogger
(51,470 posts)AZ8theist
(6,979 posts)When it comes to this current "administration", they simply can't fake how stupid they are......
70sEraVet
(5,119 posts)Those guys aren't fat enough to be OUR ICE agents!
Lonestarblue
(13,125 posts)Is there such a thing as an honest Republican today?
RazorbackExpat
(768 posts)"Honest" is not in their lexicon
flashman13
(1,766 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)FakeNoose
(39,507 posts)Just sayin'
TheRickles
(3,064 posts)Any mention of it here?
Bengus81
(9,587 posts)Martin Eden
(15,184 posts)Then our Democratic Party should purchase commercial time on TV. All it wpuld take is some 30 second ads on prime time.
Same for Faux/Trump using footage from 2020 riots.
gfarber
(154 posts)A judge gave the order: Not so!
To Trumps National Guard plan on show.
Though troops had been sent,
They were soon made to vent
Their mission was halted mid-go.
The GOP cheered with a grin,
California troops marching in!
But before they could land,
A judge raised a hand
And ruled their parade was chagrin.
Their posts showed a city ablaze,
With riotous, blood-red haze.
But the pic, on review,
Wasnt Portland who knew?
It was South Americas phase.
Two photos were spliced into one,
To show flares and cops on the run.
Though Portlands not burning,
The image was turning
Fake news into digital fun.
Trumps claim was both brash and bold,
But legally, truth must hold.
Though he shouted with flair,
Send the Guard over there!
The court said, That moves too cold.
Hugin
(37,142 posts)But, I suppose Portland has rest areas that need cleaning by unpaid mandatory volunteers.
No doubt, the MAGAts fall for this horse crap.
Mr.Bee
(1,464 posts)progressoid
(52,341 posts)I don't think anyone in that choir cares about truth or accuracy.
yellow dahlia
(4,027 posts)RW media shares false images on a regular basis.
wolfie001
(6,546 posts)I sure hope all of the clowns straddling the fence are paying attention. Especially the watermelon fools that played right into Nut-&-Yahoo's hands like lambs to the slaughter.
DiverDave
(5,201 posts)We caught your lie.
Not that your people care.
If YOU lie, it's all good.
I'm interested in your reaction if the Democratic party put out this very lie.
louis-t
(24,534 posts)When Stinky Orange sez "Portland is burning to the ground!!" it encourages his worshipers to try to make it real.
riversedge
(78,840 posts)Hey Oregon GOP--you meant to deceive your readers. Pure and simple as that.
...........When a Guardian reporter pointed out on social media that the image was not a genuine photograph of the generally small and tame protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Portland, the Oregon Republican Partys X account replied: Were not reporters, just bad memers.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/06/oregon-republicans-protest-photo-south-america