On Tuesday, Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office responded to a post on X disparaging Democrat-run states by posting four stunning images of California. However, the glossy façade of the photos crumbled under readers’ scrutiny, exposing a reliance on outdated stock photos and a misleading imagery.
The press office’s image choices responding to a post declaring that “Democrat run cities are sh*tholes” sidestep the state’s more pressing issues like homelessness and urban decay. What’s more, they misleading, readers on X note.
The first photo, although from California, is a stock photo taken at least 11 years prior that was uploaded to Shutterstock. It’s of Lombard Street in San Francisco, which is still pretty today because it’s in a more upscale neighborhood.
The rest of San Francisco has not been so lucky, however. It’s become infamous for its public defecation map (or “poop map”), which actively tracks where and when in the city someone reports seeing human feces. While Lombard Street is in a nicer neighborhood and has been spared that humiliation, much of the city hasn’t been as fortunate.
The second photo in the post is of pedestrians crossing the street on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles at dusk.
The photo itself, like the rest of the photos, is quite beautiful. However, it too is a stock photo uploaded to Shutterstock, this time by photographer Sean Pavone. It’s not a recent photo as it was taken March 1, 2016, making it nearly 10 years old.
Additionally, what gives the photo it’s gorgeous golden hue in the background (aside from the sunset) is smog from traffic, which is rarely considered a desirable attribute in a state or city.
In more recent times in Hollywood, besides the boulevard and smog, residents have been complaining about feeling unsafe due to homeless encampments within their neighborhoods. The residents themselves turned anonymously to the media instead of to their local government in order for their voices to be heard, which speaks volumes of the city’s priorities.
The third photo is of Lake Tahoe. However, as many users on X have pointed out, the photo is of Sand Harbor – a state park in Nevada – prompting readers to question why Newsom’s newsroom didn’t use a photo of a California park like the Redwoods.
The fourth and final photo is, yet again, another stock photo, this time of the Bixby Bridge and Pacific Coast Highway at sunset. The photo was taken back in 2016 by photographer Nick Fox.
However, as another user on X pointed out, further up from the bridge on Highway 1, a landslide back in February of 2024 has rendered the scenic drive’s bridge partially inoperable and it’s unclear when the damaged section of the road will be repaired and reopened.
Despite Newsom’s insistence that Democrat-run states aren’t “sh*tholes,” the message fell flat in the face of the three outdated photos and one photo that’s not even of California or of a Democrat-run state.
As one post on X of a depressing photo of paramedics resuscitating a homeless man outside of a tent mocked: “You’re right…This is the great San Fran.”
Photo by: YouTube ScreenshotYou're right... This is the great San Fran. pic.twitter.com/UJKGFLpOPg
— Kody Scott (@K0D_4) July 16, 2025