Published On 16/10/2025
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Last update: 15:02 (Mecca time)
A week ago, the White House published a controversial video clip about crime in the city of Chicago, which US President Donald Trump usually describes in his speeches and publications as “the most dangerous city in the world and the undisputed capital of murder.”
The video, which was broadcast on the official White House account on the “X” platform, came hours after Trump announced the deployment of 300 National Guard soldiers in the city, despite the objections of local officials, and following weeks of threatening this decision.
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The video was accompanied by the phrase, “An incompetent mayor and a governor who lives in delusion. Chicago is immersed in chaos and the American people are the ones paying the price. The city does not need political propaganda, but rather assistance.”
An incompetent Mayor. A delusional Governor. Chicago is in chaos, and the American people are paying the price.
Chicago doesn’t need political spin—it needs HELP. pic.twitter.com/INR42XBdqA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 8, 2025
Controversial clip
Later, Trump posted video himself on his social networking network, “Truth Social,” and quickly ignited a wave of controversy on social media platforms, amid accusations of misleading public opinion through misleading footage, as well as using security and crime issues as a pressure card to create a distorted narrative about the city.
The Al Jazeera Verification team analyzed the visual materials used in the video, which was widely spread on digital platforms, and found the truth to be completely different.
The White House video included a clip depicting the moment a gang member was arrested in Chicago.
But we found a previous version of the same clip posted on YouTube on May 1, and it dates back to an expanded campaign launched by the Immigration Enforcement Agency and the FBI in the state of Florida, which dropped out of the list of swing states and became more favorable to Donald Trump after supporting him for two consecutive sessions.
Old scenes
This snapshot also appeared in the same video as being from Chicago, but a reverse search revealed that it was old, and was taken in Florida last May while chasing criminals and illegal immigrants in the state.
Upon intensifying the search, we found 6 other old video clips dating back to the same state in previous events.
Snapshots from Texas
Our research found that Trump’s clip about Chicago included clips from the US state of Texas, which appears specifically at the 29th second of the video, and was published on April 24, 2024, and has nothing to do with the events in Chicago.
An incompetent Mayor. A delusional Governor. Chicago is in chaos, and the American people are paying the price.
Chicago doesn’t need political spin—it needs HELP. pic.twitter.com/INR42XBdqA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 8, 2025
Scenes from Carolina
This video has nothing to do with Chicago pick up In South Carolina in June of this year during an expanded security operation that resulted in the arrest of dozens and the seizure of large quantities of drugs and weapons.
Visual analysis results
The Al Jazeera Verification team’s analysis of the visual scenes shows that the White House video used visual effects to give the clip a cinematic feel, accompanied in the background by Trump’s voice.
It was also based on archival footage from about 7 different American states and cities, as its source Media platform Official US War Department report (DVIDS) to provide a misleading account of “chaos” in Democratic-led Chicago.
Allegations about “Chicago”
This was not the first time that the Trump administration was accused of publishing misleading content about the city, as the US President had previously repeatedly described it as “the most dangerous city in the world,” and the White House published An article It’s titled “Yes, Chicago Has a Crime Problem, Ask Its Residents.”
The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city.
This is not a joke. This is not normal.
Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator. pic.twitter.com/f87Zek7Cqb
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 6, 2025
By researching reliable official and media figures and reports to verify these allegations, it was found that the highest murder rates in 2024 were recorded in cities located within states led by Republicans.
It is also reviewed classification The World Atlas website for 2025, regarding the most dangerous cities in the world according to the crime index, revealed that the city of Memphis in the state of Tennessee is the only American city in the top 10 cities in the world, while the city of Chicago ranked 40th, lagging behind several other American cities.
According to an analysis conducted by Chicago Public Radio based on city data and police records, the number of homicides in the summer of 2025, that is, between June and August 2025, amounted to only 123 cases, the lowest in more than 60 years.