Social media users shared online content claiming that the storms of the American Capitol were staged using green screens. There is no evidence to support this assertion.
Examples can be seen here, here and here.
One report here reads: “A lot can be done with a green screen. Ask the news media. They can put anything on their background. One day you are on the beach. Next day maybe the Capital Building. Ask yourself. Did it really happen as depicted? ”
The reports contain an authentic AFP photo that captures the moment, visible u.afp.com/UiGF, with a green screen in the background and a video camera processed on the left.
Moments around the same scene from different angles can be seen on Reuters’ photos here, here and here.
The storm of the American Capitol took place on January 6, 2021, as can be seen here and here in Reuters videos of January 6. Reuters text coverage can be found here.
A reporter from The New Yorker filmed various scenes from inside the Capitol, which are visible here.
Although there is no video available of the scene shown in the claim, there are many photos from different angles.
The photo in the claim looks processed and of low quality, unlike the multiple photos taken by different news organizations.
The image on the video camera screen on the left does not show an accurate image (due to the camera’s position, the US flag should be visible on the right side of the image in the search finder). The face screen shows a very similar image of the photo itself, suggesting that whoever made this digitally modified version added the same image to the face screen.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, seen in the image with horns, a fur coat and face paint, is accused of ‘knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or site without legal authority, and for violent entry and disorderly conduct Capitol grounds ”. He was arrested on January 9, 2021 (here, here). Reuters claims facts that he is part of Antifa here.
VERDICT
Untrue. An original photo taken during the Capitol rush was edited to include a green screen background and a video camera.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.