The Truth Behind the “ICE Fishing” Photo
Claim and Context
A viral photograph circulating across social media platforms in October 2025 claimed to show protestors in Portland, Oregon, taunting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by dangling donuts from fishing poles, calling it “ICE Fishing.” The image, shared widely on X, Facebook, Threads, and TikTok, depicts masked demonstrators holding fishing rods with donuts tied to strings, seemingly mocking police officers standing in a line. The post quickly gained traction amid ongoing protests in Portland, where demonstrators were rallying against President Trump’s renewed deportation orders and federal troop deployments.
However, the image is not from Portland or even from the United States. CyberPoe’s fact-checking team has verified that the photo was originally taken in Toronto, Canada in 2013, during protests over a police shooting that shocked the country. The resurfaced image has been falsely repackaged more than a decade later to fit a completely unrelated American political narrative.
How the Claim Went Viral
The misleading photo emerged during a tense political moment in the U.S. Anti-ICE protests in Portland had already drawn national attention due to their scale and the involvement of federal agents. As outrage over immigration enforcement grew, the image of “ICE Fishing” seemed to offer a symbolic and humorous representation of resistance, making it instantly shareable. Within two days, the claim spread to thousands of accounts across major social platforms, generating millions of views and engagements. Memes, commentary posts, and parody videos further blurred the line between satire and misinformation.
What appeared to be a clever act of defiance by American protestors was, in reality, a carefully repurposed image from an entirely different country and political context. The virality of the claim underscored how visual misinformation can thrive when it aligns with public sentiment and political timing.
CyberPoe’s Investigation
CyberPoe’s investigative team conducted a detailed open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis to trace the true origin of the photograph. Using reverse image search tools such as Google Images, TinEye, and Yandex, analysts discovered that the earliest known upload of this image dates back to November 2013. These early versions appeared in Canadian online forums and local protest documentation, long before any 2025 events in the United States.
Further verification through historical news archives and image databases revealed matching scenes from Toronto protests in 2013. The protestors’ attire, banners, and police uniforms all corresponded with Canadian law enforcement, not ICE or U.S. authorities. CyberPoe’s analysts then turned to geolocation tools to confirm where the photo was taken.
Geolocation and Visual Evidence
Through detailed visual forensics, CyberPoe’s team identified distinctive landmarks in the viral image. Behind the line of police officers, a statue and a modern glass-paneled building could be seen. Upon comparison with Google Street View imagery from July 2022, the location matched the Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre, situated next to the Toronto Police Headquarters on College Street. Every architectural element, from the façade design to the street arrangement, aligned perfectly with the location in Toronto, providing conclusive proof that the image was not from Portland.
The Real Story Behind the Image
The photograph was originally taken in August 2013 during widespread protests in Toronto following the police shooting of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim. His death, captured on video, triggered national outrage and led to massive demonstrations against police violence and excessive force. During these protests, demonstrators used donuts tied to fishing lines as a symbolic form of mockery toward police officers, referencing the stereotype linking police and donuts. The act was meant to ridicule and protest against systemic police brutality, not to target immigration or border enforcement.
Years later, the officer involved in Yatim’s shooting, Constable James Forcillo, was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to six years in prison, marking one of Canada’s rare cases of police accountability. The “donut protest” became a cultural symbol of resistance during that period, not a political message about ICE or U.S. immigration policy.
Archival and Media Evidence
A review of historical archives, including Getty Images and Reuters photo databases, confirmed that multiple images from the same 2013 Toronto protests show protestors using the same “donut fishing” stunt. These images were captured from different angles and by multiple photographers, confirming their authenticity and origin. No record exists in any credible American news outlet such as AP, or Reuters showing a similar protest tactic used in Portland or elsewhere in the United States in 2025. The viral image’s misattribution appears to have been entirely the result of online disinformation and digital recycling.
Why the Misattribution Matters
The spread of this image reflects a larger pattern of digital misinformation in the modern era. Old protest imagery is often recycled to exploit new political moments, manipulating public perception and intensifying polarization. Such tactics are especially potent when they involve visuals, which are more easily trusted and shared than text-based claims. By reusing emotionally charged images, disinformation actors can inflame social divides, delegitimize authentic activism, and erode public confidence in factual reporting.
This case demonstrates the importance of image verification in an era dominated by visual content. Without proper context, an old photograph can take on an entirely new meaning, shaping false narratives and influencing public discourse.
CyberPoe Reality Check
After extensive verification, CyberPoe confirms that the viral “ICE Fishing” photograph is not from Portland in 2025 but from Toronto in 2013. The image was taken during protests against police brutality, not against immigration enforcement. The location, architecture, and historical context all confirm its Canadian origin. The claim that Portland protestors taunted ICE agents with doughnuts is entirely false and represents another example of recycled disinformation being used to distort current events.
Final Word
This incident is a textbook example of how misinformation evolves and spreads in the digital ecosystem. What began as a local protest image in Canada a decade ago has been repurposed into a politically charged falsehood in the United States. The “ICE Fishing” narrative shows how easily satire can mutate into misinformation when stripped of context and shared for virality.
In an age of algorithmic amplification, truth often loses to spectacle. CyberPoe continues to stand at the frontline of digital truth, exposing recycled lies and restoring factual clarity.
CyberPoe | The Anti-Propaganda Frontline
Investigating misinformation, tracing origins, and defending reality one fact-check at a time.
