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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The “main character” label in the August 12, 2024, Futurism story described the sudden online attention around photographs that appeared to show JD Vance in drag during his Yale Law School years. The images and their circumstances were not fully authenticated in the reporting: a spokesperson’s reported non-denial was not confirmation, and the available accounts left the photographs’ provenance unresolved.
What the 2024 story reported
Futurism published Noor Al-Sibai’s article on August 12, 2024. It reported that two photographs posted by Matt Bernstein appeared to show Vance dressed in drag while he was at Yale Law School. Futurism also noted that a Vance spokesperson did not deny that the first photograph depicted him when asked by the Daily Beast. A non-denial is not an affirmative identification or independent authentication of an image. Read Futurism’s August 12, 2024 article.
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What is known about the second photograph
The Daily Beast’s August 12 report described a second alleged photograph, saying it appeared to show the same person in the same wig and costume as an earlier image. The earlier image was said to have been taken by a Yale classmate in 2012. Those descriptions and the proposed link between the images are reported claims, not a verified account of who took either photograph or when. Read the Daily Beast’s August 12, 2024 report.
The reported chain of custody
The Daily Beast identified Travis Whitfill as the person who sent the alleged second photo to Bernstein. Whitfill described its possible origin this way: “It’s from a group chat of Vance’s fellow classmates and is from a friend of a friend. I believe it was grabbed from Facebook and was taken at a Halloween party,” he told the outlet. His wording preserves uncertainty: it is an account relayed through classmates and a friend of a friend, not proof of the photographer, event, or complete chain of custody.
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Why the photographs drew online attention
Futurism framed the episode as a “main character” moment: a person becomes the focus of a large online conversation, with the images interpreted through the public figure’s politics. The article connected the attention to what it saw as a contrast between the photos and Vance’s public criticism of queer and trans people. That is the article’s political interpretation of the response, not something the photographs establish.
The images do not establish Vance’s gender identity or sexuality, and they cannot show why the person pictured was wearing the clothing. Drag is not evidence of someone’s identity. The story’s attention and its political reading should therefore be kept distinct from what can be established about the photographs themselves.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reported reactions and view count mean
The Daily Beast reported that the second photo quickly received more than 500,000 views. That is the outlet’s publication-time figure from August 12, 2024, not a current count or a measure of how many people saw or agreed with the story. The outlet also quoted reactions including “So this is what it’s like for August to have two Christmases in it” and “Say what you want about JD but nobody can deny that he’s fabulous!” These are examples of online responses, not a representative survey of public opinion.
A separate account about Vance and a former friend
Futurism also recounted a former Yale friend’s account that Vance brought baked goods while the friend recovered from gender-affirming surgery. The article attributed that anecdote to a former friend speaking to the New York Times. It is a secondary account in Futurism’s article, not independently verified by the reporting described here, and it does not authenticate either photograph.
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