"MAJOR ALERT: THE JAIL OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE IS ALMOST COMPLETE !!! ARE YOU READY TO SEE ARRESTS ???" says a November 30, 2024 X post.
The claim circulated elsewhere on social media including posts in Spanish.
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Screenshot of an X post taken January 3, 2025
The posts come amid pledges by Trump to make swift changes upon taking office, promising executive orders related to the transgender population and immigration once sworn in for his second term. However, the structure seen in the viral image is not a detention facility, as the posts claim.
A reverse image search led to a live stream (archived here), on EarthTV's YouTube channel, showing the exterior of the White House from the same angle.
The image shared on social media appears to be a still taken from that broadcast.
A keyword search led to a news report published October 17, 2024, detailing National Park Service (NPS) plans for construction of grandstands for the upcoming Inaugural Parade.
The NPS published a press release October 11, in which it states that the work began October 1 (archived here).
An AFP photographer captured a photo of the construction November 8, 2024.
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The presidential Inauguration parade review stand is being assembled along Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House on November 8, 2024 (AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)
Mike Litterst, head of communications for the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the NPS, said in a December 27, 2024 email: "The structure in...
Social media accounts with a history of anti-transgender rhetoric frequently and falsely accuse transgender people of crimes, particularly during mass shooting events, before facts are known. The...