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No, Donald Trump's parents were not wearing KKK robes in old photo
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is facing fallout from a recently surfaced photo that appears on his 1984 medical school yearbook page showing a person blackface standing next to someone dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Now, a not-so-convincing photographic attempt to paint Republican President Donald Trump as a literal descendant of the Klan is being shared online as well.
An old photograph spreading on social media makes it look like a younger Donald Trump is posing with his parents while they are donning white KKK robes.
A caption with the photo reads: "HE HASN’T CHANGED Y’ALL!!!"
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
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The image is not genuine, and a Google search and a reverse image search brings up dozens of versions of the original, in which all three are wearing regular clothing without any Klan symbols.
While Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was reportedly arrested in 1927 at a KKK rally in Queens, he was never formally charged or cited as a supporter or member.
But the photograph is clearly doctored, with the robes digitally inserted over the Trumps’ actual clothing.
This is Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, Feb. 2, 2019
Vox, A step-by-step guide to what happens if Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam steps down, Feb. 4, 2019
Google image search, Feb. 4, 2019
Reverse-image search, Feb. 4, 2019
Washington Post, "In 1927 Donald Trump’s father was arrested after a klan riot in Queens," Feb. 28, 2016
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No, Donald Trump's parents were not wearing KKK robes in old photo
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