Fact check: Altered image shows Pete Buttigieg wearing breastfeeding device

The claim: Pete Buttigieg was wearing a breastfeeding device

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took parental leave in August after he welcomed twins with his husband, Chasten.

The event spawned one absurdist claim on social media.

"Pete Buttigieg on paternity leave learning how to breast feed during the biggest supply chain crisis modern history," reads the text of an Instagram post shared on Oct. 17 with an image of what appears to show Pete Buttigieg wearing an artificial breastfeeding device. 

Supply chains across many industries have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts attribute the backups to rising consumer demand, increased shipping costs, production constraints and labor shortages around the world.

The post using the picture to criticize Buttgieg's response to that crisis is one of several circulating on social media. The posts combined to receive more than 1,000 interactions.

But, the image of Buttigieg is altered. The image appears to come from a screenshot of a video posted to a Japanese tech company's website, and Buttigieg was digitally added.

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USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the post for comment. 

Buttigieg was not wearing device

The picture is fake, said Dani Simons, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation.

The original image of the breastfeeding device can be found on the website of a Japanese tech company, Dentsu.

Called the "Father's Nursing Assistant," the device was featured by the company at the South by Southwest Festival in 2019. The tech company told USA TODAY in 2019 they created the device to allow dads to participate in the breastfeeding process.

The image circulating on social media replaces the man's face with an image of Buttigieg. It also shows a child clearly older than either of Buttigieg's children.

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Buttigieg shared a tweet on Sept. 4 of his twins and his husband.

Our rating: Altered

Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image that shows Buttigeig wearing a breastfeeding device. The image circulating on social media is an edited version of a screenshot from a Japanese tech company's video. The man's face in the video was replaced with Buttigieg's face.

Our fact-check sources:

• Reuters, Oct. 18, Fact Check-Image of Pete Buttigieg wearing a breastfeeding device is digitally altered
• Washington Post, Oct. 15, Republicans fault Buttigieg for time off with newborns. Democrats say he’s showing the need for paid parental leave
• Dentsu, accessed Oct. 19, A desire to create commonplace products led to an innovative device that lets a father nurse and put his baby to sleep
• USA TODAY, Sept. 4, Pete Buttigieg, husband Chasten announce birth of twins with sweet photo
• USA TODAY, Oct. 15, Supply chain issues: What are they and how will shortages impact the holiday shopping season?
• USA TODAY, March 13, 2019, Dads can 'breastfeed' too with this wearable device
• Dani Simons, Oct. 19, pPhone interview with USA TODAY
• Pete Buttigieg, Sept. 4, Tweet
• USA TODAY, Oct. 27, Fact check: Cargo backlog due to supply chain snags, not executive order

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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.