A post shared on X claims that former White House photographer Pete Souza was suspended from X for spreading the claim that former President Donald Trump wasn’t hit by a bullet.

Pete Souza was the Official Chief White House Photographer for the entire Presidency of Barack Obama.

He took over 2 MILLION photos of Obama, as well as photos of Reagan & Bush.

Today Musk suspended his account for posting this AP photo.

Free speech my ass.#FreePeteSouza pic.twitter.com/MJxmrDOmc3

— Dave Ryder 🌊💙🌎❄🏳️‍🌈 (@daveryder) July 28, 2024

Verdict: False

Souza said that he deactivated his account. He was not suspended.

Fact Check:

Social media users have been claiming that Souza was suspended for sharing an Associated Press image of Trump’s ear. (RELATED: J.D. Vance Claims Donald Trump Opposed 2003 Iraq Invasion While Biden Supported)

“Pete Souza was the Official Chief White House Photographer for the entire Presidency of Barack Obama. He took over 2 MILLION photos of Obama, as well as photos of Reagan & Bush. Today Musk suspended his account for posting this AP photo. Free speech my ass,” one user wrote.

This claim is false. If Souza had been suspended, credible media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. A wider internet search also did not yield any results.

Souza said in an Instagram post that he had deactivated his account.

“So I de-activated my Twitter account. It was a gut decision, made only by me. I am still not sure if this is a temporary or a permanent action,” Souza wrote.
⁣
“I was unaware that some on Twitter were a⁣ responding that Elon Musk had deleted my account. How would I know? I wasn’t able to access Twitter. I did receive a few DMs here on Instagram about this, but didn’t think much about it,” Souza continued.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed in a statement that Trump had been shot by a bullet. People sharing recent images of Trump’s ear have spread conspiracy theories that he had not been shot, according to the Daily Dot.