On New Year’s Eve, Politico released a collection of anecdotes from the 2024 campaign trail. It’s called either “What I saw on the fearful road to Trump’s (second) victory” (the title shown in the tab) or “The Ground Is Shifting in American Politics. Here’s What I Saw on the Trail.” The reporter, David Siders, is also credited with the photos.
In two paragraphs under the header “Waterloo, Iowa,” Siders interviews Dave Nagle. But the photo with it is a problem. The alt text of the image reads: “A map showing the location of Waterloo, Iowa, and a picture of a street with a sign for gases prices [sic] at Casey’s General Store are shown.”
But here’s the thing. I know that Casey’s by heart. I know that view by heart. The picture is NOT from Waterloo. It is from Albion, an hour away. Here’s a Google Street View link at the Albion Casey’s that shows not only the two-story red building, but the dumpster in the same place by the city park.
I don’t know why the picture is not of Waterloo, unless it’s to convey a depiction of rurality that the city does not have. In fact, I would go so far as to accuse Politico of engaging in deception if not journalistic malpractice. The (hidden) caption does not specify that the Casey’s is in Waterloo, but it doesn’t say it’s NOT in Waterloo.
UPDATE: Politico e-mailed me back. The explanation is kind of what I thought it would be: The photo is representative of Siders’ trip in the area before the caucuses, and the caption doesn’t specify the location it was taken. Most of the other locations appear to have photos from the city with the dateline, but since the Nagle interview took place in Waterloo, that’s the dateline that was used. The rationale is understandable, if deeply dissatisfying.