ST. LOUIS — A 5 On Your Side viewer emailed our Verify team after coming across a photo on her Facebook feed.
The image was of a Vietnam War memorial that had been vandalized. Above the photo it said, “Well, your protest has lost me right there,” insinuating the damage was caused by people at recent protests.
Our Verify team did a reverse image search of the photo on tineye.com to see exactly what the real story is.
The photo is from 2016. The graffiti happened in May of that year to a Vietnam War mural in Venice, California.
The 5 On Your Side Verify team also obtained images from the Associated Press archives documenting the cleanup efforts in 2016 after the vandalism took place.
Verify also contacted Venice Chamber of Commerce President George Francisco. He personally drove by the mural after we requested an update on its condition.
Francisco reported back to Verify that there is no fresh damage to the mural. He also explained that a protective coating was added to it to prevent further damage.
So, 5 On Your Side can Verify the online claim is false. The damage to the Vietnam War mural is not a result of recent protests or riots.
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