Buzzfeed fact checks claims from CNN and others that Sarah Sanders tweeted 'doctored' video of Jim Acosta

As Twitchy told you earlier, there are some accusing the White House of tweeting a “doctored” video of Jim Acosta’s grandstanding & mic hogging at yesterday’s press conference. CNN employees were among those claiming the video had been doctored:

CNN tears into Sarah Sanders over Acosta video: "You released a doctored video – actual fake news" https://t.co/bp63xd4BKA pic.twitter.com/wHsNTHl5jE

— The Hill (@thehill) November 8, 2018

Absolutely shameful, @PressSec. You released a doctored video – actual fake news. History will not be kind to you. https://t.co/v1w9Lj9TlK

— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) November 8, 2018

Question for @PressSec: Where'd you obtain the distorted @Acosta video you posted? InfoWars personality @PrisonPlanet posted the same video two hours before you did. Surely you don't trust InfoWars…?

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 8, 2018

Buzzfeed looked into the allegation a little deeper:

The dystopia is here: No one can agree if this Trump press conference video is doctored https://t.co/rKKdfvAzeO

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) November 8, 2018

A viral clip tweeted by an editor of a conspiracy theory website purports to show that CNN reporter Jim Acosta touched an aide's hand as she tried to take a microphone away from him.

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) November 8, 2018

The clip was picked up by press secretary Sarah Sanders as proof that Acosta "put his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job." But observers online said the clip was allegedly doctored and that Watson might have sped up Acosta's arm to "amp up the conflict."

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) November 8, 2018

Video-to-gif conversion cuts frame rates by removing frames. A gif-making tool might reduce a source video to 10 frames per second from a raw, televised rate of 29.97 fps. When frames drop out, the video appears jumpier. Acosta's arm seems to move faster. Everything accelerates.

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) November 8, 2018

Well that’s a turn:

wait… so now it's not "doctored"? https://t.co/Twl0WMew30

— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) November 8, 2018

So confusing!

Buzzfeed

Thank you for actually fact checking this.

Its fair to say the gif isn't accurate but it is also important to note that there was no intent to deceive https://t.co/4pcwVymXjZ

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) November 8, 2018

BuzzFeed you've gained a follow. I've distanced myself from most big news platforms, but you're at least making an effort to be honest.

— [Redacted] ??? (@bam_boo_88) November 8, 2018

So it wasn’t doctored it was just turned into a gif. Really glad the left flipped its shit over a gif. https://t.co/PJhLpFiMJa

— Some chick named Heather (@hboulware) November 8, 2018

So, @cnn falsely claimed, without evidence, that the video had been "doctored" when in fact what it had been was simply converted in the most common way. Fitting that @cnn would get this wrong. https://t.co/R7JaQk3Cqi

— Chance Gardener (@ChanceBGardener) November 8, 2018

They don’t wear the “Fake News” label for nothing.