Fact-checkers have called out a "misleading" and "distorted" claim former US First Lady Michelle Obama used to criticise the Trump administration.
Obama made the assertion during a keynote speech at the virtual Democratic National Convention's opening night on Monday.
She assailed President Donald Trump for his handling of migrants trying to get into the United States.
She said America's children "see our leaders labelling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists".
"They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photo-op.
"Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation - a nation that's underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character."
However, the Associated Press (AP) ran a fact check on the cage reference and has called it a "frequent and distorted point made widely by Democrats".
"She's right that Trump’s now-suspended policy at the US-Mexico border separated thousands of children from their families in ways that had not been done before," AP reported.
"But what she did not say is that the very same 'cages' were built and used in her husband's administration, for the same purpose of holding migrant kids temporarily."
They referenced photos taken of the cages during 2014 which "depicted some of the thousands of unaccompanied children held by President Barack Obama".
The cages are chain-link enclosures inside border facilities where migrants were temporarily housed, separated by sex and age.
However AP also pointed out Obama was correct in addressing the removal of children from parents at the border.
"The Obama administration separated migrant children from families under certain limited circumstances, like when the child's safety appeared at risk or when the parent had a serious criminal history.
"But family separations as a matter of routine came about because of Trump’s 'zero tolerance' enforcement policy, which he eventually suspended because of the uproar. Obama had no such policy."
During the speech, which was pre-recorded and aired online, Obama praised Democratic nominee Joe Biden as a "profoundly decent man" and urged Americans to see President Trump as "clearly in over his head".
"Whenever we look to this White House for leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get is chaos and division and a total lack of empathy," she said.
"Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country."
