On Feb. 7, 2020, the Twitter account named “White House Photos” (@photowhitehouse) tweeted a photograph of U.S. President Donald Trump walking across the the South Lawn of the White House that seemingly revealed a marked contrast in Trump’s face between the areas of skin that are tanned or colored orange and the pale natural coloring of skin typically covered by his hair:

⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ returns to the White House from Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by William Moon at the South Lawn of the White House on February 7, 2020 pic.twitter.com/n1a1Z93LrJ — White House Photos (@photowhitehouse) February 7, 2020

As Mashable wrote of the picture (circulation of which was driven by the hashtag #orangeface):

You’ll immediately notice that Trump’s face is glowing orange. I’m talking Big Tangerine Energy here. Definitely more bronzed than usual. Not only is his face clearly covered in tinted makeup or tanner of some sort, but there’s also clear line where the makeup ends. Trump’s hair is blown back a bit, and his pale scalp halo hovers above what looks like an orange mask.

This photograph triggered plenty of online discussion about whether it had been fabricated or manipulated, along with claims that the White House subsequently deleted it and/or replaced it with a black-and-white version to cover up the embarrassing coloration it displayed:

Why is the top of his head photoshopped? — Sandra Santmyer (@SandraSantmyer) February 7, 2020

This photo was tweeted by the White House and later deleted. It's haunting. He is ill and no one who is supposed to care for him is getting him the help he needs. And he's angry, vindictive and lacks conscience. It makes him dangerous. Who will protect us? https://t.co/nef3GVCSBa — Karen Myatt (@karenamyatt) February 8, 2020

However, “White House Photos” is an unverified Twitter account which has no official affiliation with President Trump or the White House. That account claims to be run by a photographer named “William Moon,” who is neither the official White House photographer (Shealah Craighead is) nor a member of the White House News Photographers Association. According to Vox, Moon “appears to be a Trump enthusiast who attends White House open press events.”

Whoever actually runs it, the “White House Photos” Twitter account is not connected with or controlled by the White House itself, so its actions do not represent or reflect White House interests or policies. So the fact that that same Twitter account later posted a black-and-white version of the same photograph is not evidence that Trump and/or the White House attempted “cover up” the original picture by de-colorizing it (which actually served to heighten the facial contrast) or by deleting it (the original color version remains on the account’s timeline):

Today, ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ was dancing with the sunset and strong winds when he walked to the Oval Office from the Marine One on the South Lawn.. Photo by William Moon in the White House on February 7, 2020 pic.twitter.com/GURvi4UeSO — White House Photos (@photowhitehouse) February 8, 2020

Trump himself tweeted the (de-colorized) version of the photo, calling it “Fake News” that was “photoshopped, obviously”:

More Fake News. This was photoshopped, obviously, but the wind was strong and the hair looks good? Anything to demean! https://t.co/t8ptYMCYHf — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2020

As for whether the photograph is “real,” the White House Photos account later posted that the picture was not “photoshopped,” but “Apple smartphone’s photo app” had been used “to adjust the color of the picture”:

This picture was never photoshopped, but used the Apple smartphone’s photo app to adjust the color of the picture. — White House Photos (@photowhitehouse) February 8, 2020

Other pictures taken at the same time and place also show a marked “tan line” on the president’s face, but not nearly as much bright orange coloration:





The Independent’s indy100 website declared of the “unbelievably orange face” photo that: