Photo Shows DACA Recipients Burning American Flag-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A photo supposedly showing DACA recipients burning an American flag has led some to question why DACA recipients want amnesty in the first place.
The Truth:
This photo shows protesters gathered outside the California Republican Convention in 2016— not DACA recipients burning the American flag.
Photographer Gabriella Angotti-Jones captured the image of protestors before a planned address by Donald Trump to the convention in April 2016. Protesters waived Mexican flags, held signs and burned a Donald Trump piñata in protest before the future president’s address. According to a caption added to the image, the item being burned was a piñata, not a flag.
And it’s not clear that the protesters were recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status. However, that claim has been made a number of times since 2016, trending in September 2017 and January 2018.
Each time, social media users react to and share the image. The aim is to portray DACA recipients as ungrateful or unpatriotic. But, again, it’s not clear that the protesters are actually DACA recipients. And it is clear that they’re burning a piñata, which can be seen here in another picture from the protest:
Given all that, we’re calling rumors that DACA recipients burned the American flag “fiction.”