Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke August 26, 2020

These photos don’t show Jacob Blake posing with a gun

If Your Time is short

  • These photos don’t show Jacob Blake, a Black man shot and partially paralyzed by a white police officer on Aug. 23 in Kenosha, Wis. 
 

A grid of four images being shared on social media show someone posing with a gun, and in three of the photos, aiming it at the camera.

"I’m not judging," the post says, "I’m just showing you pictures of Jacob Blake."

This 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.) 

But these are not pictures of Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot and partially paralyzed by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 23, while his children watched from a nearby vehicle.

First of all, the person in the images doesn’t resemble Blake. 

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

Second, they previously spread on social media in connection with the death of 16-year-old Pierre Loury, who was shot by a police officer in 2016 in Chicago

Featured Fact-check

We couldn’t find credible sources confirming that the person in these photos is Loury, either. His Facebook account now only shows two photos, including one that says "R.I.P."  

A different photo the Chicago Tribune published from Loury’s Facebook page in 2016 shows him posing with a gun. His mother "said the photo was taken while he was promoting a rap song, nothing more," the caption says. 

We rate this Facebook post False.

 

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

These photos don’t show Jacob Blake posing with a gun

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up