The truth about that viral photo of Anderson Cooper standing in waist-high water

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A photo of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper standing in waist high water has gone viral, with conservatives citing it as a evidence of the media exaggerating the flooding brought by Hurricane Florence — but what’s the truth?

• Both Donald Trump Jr. and Gavin Smith, a former Department of Health and Human Services adviser who was ousted from the department after controversial tweets attacking elected officials and the media, tweeted photos of Cooper standing in waist high water.
• Other media outlets, mostly right wing, accused Cooper of “kneeling” in the shot to make the waters look high — noting that his crew is standing in much shallower water.
• The truth, Cooper pointed out, was that the entire setup involved him standing at a lower elevation, with his crew on higher land.
• While Trump Jr. didn’t directly call out CNN for “faking” the flooding from Florence, Smith did.
• Both photos, however, are actually from 2008, when Cooper was covering Hurricane Ike.
• The tweets have attracted considerable attention online, with many users pointing out the photos are a decade old.
• Neither Trump Jr. nor Smith have deleted the tweets as of this writing.
• In his tweet, Trump Jr. linked to a Breitbart article with a headline claiming CNN’s ratings are down 41 percent.

It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%. What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad. https://t.co/O3XyWchsJh pic.twitter.com/BCUCxKnOvO

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 16, 2018

 

Absolutely disgraceful! Apparently #HurricaneFlorence wasn’t devastating enough for @CNN’s @andersoncooper — so he had to exaggerate for his live shot. #FakeNews at its finest! pic.twitter.com/9pUJ6Ulgqf

— Gavin J. Smith (@iamgavinjames) September 15, 2018