Did Black Lives Matter Protesters Deface a Vietnam War Memorial?

A viral Facebook post claims that Black Lives Matter protesters vandalized a Vietnam War memorial. The post was originally published July 7 and continues to be widely shared now more than two weeks later.

The photo depicts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Los Angeles, California. The wall is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and has been vandalized in the past. However, the memorial has not been vandalized during the recent protests that occurred. A reverse image search shows that the picture is of defacement that occurred in 2016, and rather than BLM protesters, Angel Castro, a graffiti tagger known by the moniker “Liter,” was arrested for the crime. Three other taggers are thought to have been involved: “Pheb,” “Noner,” and “Snake.” Tagging is the act of leaving a graffiti signature, a way for taggers to show off to each other. Given the type of graffiti on the memorial, there’s nothing to indicate that the foursome were involved with the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Comments (12)
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  • I guess the great protesters missed this one. Great stuff, Alec. I dislike the viral nonsense.

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  • I'm annoyed that "a viral social media post" is even a thing.

    That is all; carry on.

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  • Thanks, as always Alec...this makes a difference

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  • It does not matter when or where these taggers do their work - they should be in JAIL! They are spending our tax dollars to clean this ridiculous shit up.

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  • You can learn more about deep-fakes here, from "the Tute" (old term..).

    https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/deepfakes-explained

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  • I am living in Hell that smart people like the folks at the dispatch have to take time to fact check memes. Good work. But man, I'm in Hell

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  • Is it just me, or is there more and more of such nonsense being circulated as outrage currency nowadays? I know that things are emotionally fraught this year for many obvious reasons, but it's hard to not be suspicious for this being Russian et al interference in this election season.

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    1. At this point, the Russians don't even need to be engaging in election shenanigans to accomplish their objectives. I'm not saying they aren't, since they almost certainly are, but it seems like the mere possibility is enough to sow discord and confusion

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  • Thanks for the fact check!

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  • Alec needs a fact-checker street name

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    1. DenTruth!

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