The White House Didn't go Dark

The Misbar team has determined that the claim is false. First, the picture showing the White House appears to have been taken in July 2014, where it shows light on in one room, as well as one outside. The image appears to have been doctored later and was used for a news story on a satirical website known as NewsThump.The image in question was highlighted in a BBC story that ran in June 2020 where the managing editor of NewsThump said, “Obviously the purpose of our photoshop wasn't to mislead but to complement a joke we were making.”

NewsThump describes itself as a “satirical and spoof news website, taking a daily swipe at current affairs from the UK and around the world.”

Since the image not only originated in a satirical website but also during the Trump presidency, we rate the claim as false.