On Thursday, the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention, a “Trump2024” banner reading “Powered by Team Trump” appeared above the “What’s Happening” summary on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The #Trump2024 hashtag briefly displayed an American flag, and clicking on it displayed an animated “hashfetish” effect of flags raining down, but what caught our eye was the icon attached to the number one trending topic, #MAGA.
During the assassination attempt at a campaign event last weekend, a low-resolution version of the now-famous image of Trump pumping his fist while being hoisted by a Secret Service agent briefly appeared on the site, but from that angle it looked identical to an image owned by the Associated Press and its photographer, Evan Vucci.
When asked about the hash flag, Lauren Easton, Associated Press vice president of public affairs, responded, “This is not an authorized use of our photos,” and said, “Our photos are available for editorial purposes only.”
“Hashfetti” Screenshot: X.com
In response to a query from The Verge, an unnamed respondent from X’s press email account said the Hashmoji and Hashfetti animations are “commercially available products.” According to a post on X’s business blog, the animated effect has been used by more than 30 brands since it first appeared in a Louis Vuitton campaign last year.
The account did not respond to questions about whether the AP had permission to use the image for this purpose or to identify who purchased the commercial product.