The Department of Homeland Security has been posting “misleading” videos on social media from years ago to push its deportation narrative and to justify federal law enforcement in Democrat-run cities, a new report finds.
Under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the agency has been prolific on social media, posting hundreds of videos of raids and operations across the country.
But at least six of the viral videos posted in the last three months have been misleading and claim to be depicting events in cities targeted by President Donald Trump, when in reality, they were filmed in completely different states, the Washington Post reports.
Other videos purporting to show the American public recent events were from incidents that happened in 2019, the outlet first reported.
A former DHS official who has worked under both Democratic and Republican administrations on intelligence and federal law enforcement matters said that Trump’s team risks eroding trust with the American public.
“If people come to believe that what you’re saying is inaccurate or not based on an objective evaluation of a threat or emergency situation, they’re not going to pay attention or listen to you,” John Cohen told the Post. “The goal of a law enforcement organization should be to de-escalate. And the way you de-escalate is by providing accurate information.”
Cohen, now at the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, said that during his time at the department, officials would always ensure they were putting out information that was “absolutely accurate.”
A video posted by the DHS X account on Oct.5 titled “RECAPTURE OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY!” contained a number of inaccuracies.
The video was presented by DHS deputy assistant secretary Micah Bock in the style of a news report and included a border crossing clip to show how under past administrations, “our borders were open to illegal criminals.”
But the clip of agents at the Arizona-Mexico border was from 2019 footage, under the first Trump administration.
Another clip purporting to show drug smugglers in New York who have “flooded our communities and decimated our way of life” was taken from a 2019 operation thousands of miles away in international waters in the Pacific Ocean.
In another example, the department claimed victory in August for its federal takeover of Washington, D.C. with a video montage showing agents in the “battle for the soul of our nation.”
However, several clips used in the department’s video were taken from events that took place months earlier in Los Angeles and Florida’s West Palm Beach, according to the Post.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the outlet the videos were a small percentage of the hundreds the agency has posted this year.
“Violence and rioting against law enforcement is unacceptable regardless of where it occurs,” she added.
The Independent has contacted DHS for further comment.
The White House X account also shared a video on Oct.8 about “Chicago in chaos,” featuring a voiceover from Trump where he called the Illinois city a “mess.”
Trump shared the video to his Truth Social account, however people noticed one big giveaway – palm trees are not a frequent sighting in Chicago. Months-old clips in the Trump-endorsed video were taken from Florida, Texas, South Carolina and California.
One clip in the Chicago video was even taken under the Biden administration from an operation in Texas in August, 2024.
“What we are witnessing is the collapse of government accountability through communication based on facts,” Eddie Perez, a former director for civic integrity at Twitter, now X, told the Post.
“They’re not trying to communicate actions and outcomes. They’re acting like filmmakers, trying to make people laugh, to make them feel scared, to inspire certain emotions regardless of the truth.”
