Images of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were recently shared on Chinese-language social media posts, purporting to show her in advertisements for Huawei’s Mate 60 mobile phone. Posts also said that these advertisements had been displayed on billboards in Times Square in New York.
Asia Fact Check Lab discovered that the images had been digitally altered, although it appears that at least one of these doctored images was displayed on a Time Square billboard. Keyword searches found no listings featuring Raimondo.
The footage was included in a one minute and 57 second clip sharing on X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 10.
“Advertising screen in Times Square, New York, showing an advertisement featuring US Commerce Secretary Raimondo endorsing the Huawei Mate60,” the post reads in part, along with a video containing what appear to be advertisements for the phone with Raimondo.
The same images accompanied by the same claim were also shared on other Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin and Weibo. They began circulating after Raimondo’s official visit to China at the end of August.
The photos are apparently a mockery of Raimondo, who has recently tried to build a reputation for being tough on China, following the release of the Mate 60 Pro, a mobile phone running on a chip designed in-house by Huawei in response to strict US sanctions against Chinese telecommunications companies.
However, these images have been digitally enhanced. Here’s what AFCL found.
Raimondo in a blue suit jacket
A reverse image search found the original photo taken by Reuters during a interview at the Department of Commerce headquarters in Washington DC in 2021.
Below is a screenshot comparison.
Although the secretary’s posture and earrings are identical to the original, it appears that the color of Raimondo’s initially dark purple blazer was changed during editing and a Huawei logo was added to her chest LEFT.
Additionally, a fake signature has been added to the bottom right corner of the image. The handwriting differs significantly from a copy of Raimondo’s original signature on a document signed for Gay Pride month in 2017.
Raimondo in a black sweater
The image is the secretary’s profile photo from when she took office in 2021. The Commerce Department’s official website has updated her photo in the two years since, but a archived version from the March 2021 website shows that the earrings and angle of the secretary’s face in the original image match the fake ad exactly. The same photo can also be seen in a April 2021 article on Raimondo’s official Instagram account.
Below is a screenshot comparison.
Raimondo in pink suit
Searching the online photo gallery Alamy discovered that this image was taken from a photo of the secretary attending a House Committee on Appropriations hearing on February 1, 2022. A mask that Raimondo originally held in her left hand has been removed during assembly.
Below is a screenshot comparison.
Keyword searches found no Mate 60 listings featuring Raimondo.
Announcements in Times Square
A closer look at two doctored photos showing Raimondo in a pink and black outfit shows that most of the pedestrians seen in the photos are dressed in thick leather coats, down jackets and wool hats.
Given the average September temperatures in New York, it is unlikely that many people will be wearing such winter outfits at this time. This indicates that these two fake ads were edited to include irrelevant photos of Time Square, which are not current.
However, a keyword search on Weibo found a user who claimed that a netizen named “Student Xing in the United States” had paid for the fake ad to be displayed and posted a mobile screen recording showing a payment of US$40 made to TSX Entertainment, a company that allows people to upload their own content to a billboard in Times Square for a fee.
The AFCL found a video showing Raimondo’s ad in black broadcast in the square, followed by a news clip of the secretary disembarking from a plane to China and subtitles saying that “China’s chips are ahead.”
AFCL was unable to retrieve historical footage released by TSX on the market to verify the user’s story, and the company did not respond to inquiries as of this writing. .
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a branch of RFA established to combat misinformation in today’s complex media environment. Our journalists publish daily and special reports that aim to refine and deepen our readers’ understanding of issues of public interest.
