WASHINGTON: An altered image of former U.S. Secretary of State and special climate envoy John Kerry with his daughter Vanessa Kerry has been circulating online.
One Facebook post shared the edited image, depicting Vanessa Kerry with blue eyes and an eye patch, along with the caption: “JOHN KERRY’S MAN DAUGHTER.” The original photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Michael Dwyer on November 4, 2008, shows the father and daughter watching election returns in a Boston hotel. A comparison of the images confirms that the version on social media has been digitally altered.
A watermark on the edited image, reading “Makaveli Memez,” can be traced to an August 21 post on X (formerly Twitter), which jokingly claimed, “John Kerry’s daughter is responsible for starting the Targaryen Civil War.” This caption references the drama series House of the Dragon, which portrays a fictional civil war set 200 years before the events of HBO’s Game of Thrones.
In response to someone sharing the original image on X, the creator of the altered version acknowledged their work, stating, “She looks exactly like Aemond Targaryen,” referring to a character from the series. “That’s the entire point of my meme.”
VERDICT: Altered. The image of Vanessa Kerry circulating online with an eye patch has been edited from a 2008 photograph.
