T-Mobile Uses Image of Ukrainian Firefighters To Trash Trump-Backed First Responder Network After Texas Floods

T-Mobile is facing heat after launching what some are calling an “out-of-touch” PR campaign, attacking FirstNet, the national emergency communications network that first responders in flood-ravaged Texas Hill Country are relying on to stay connected to save lives from the devastating flooding.

Independent journalist Breanna Morello found that T-Mobile took aim at FirstNet in an email blast to Capitol Hill staffers on July 8, which was also obtained separately by Texas Politics.

Morello posted on X in part: “T-Mobile sent out a mass email to Congressional staffers trashing a key national security program that is being highly relied on to save lives in the aftermath of the Texas flood. T-Mobile’s unethical sales pitch was sent while First Responders were saving Americans and it also included a stock photo of Ukrainian firefighters. Was this on accident or on purpose?”

FirstNet is a congressionally authorized, Trump-supported national security and public safety network to ensure that firefighters, paramedics, and law enforcement have access to reliable communications during disasters.

The email, sent in the wake of emergency operations in Central Texas, has drawn responses from national first responder organizations and raised concerns about the messaging and imagery used.

The German-owned telecom not only criticized FirstNet’s performance but included stock images of firefighters at work.

The catch? The image isn’t American. It was sourced from VAKS-Stock Agency, a Ukrainian-based creative firm, and features Ukrainian firefighters.

Jeff Johnson, Western Fire Chiefs Association, Chief Emeritus, pointed out that the image may have been shot in Europe, not the United States, raising concerns about the appropriateness of using foreign imagery in a message attacking American emergency response.

Johnson said, “The attached picture was published in the T-Mobile hit piece about your network and if you are wondering where you could buy helmets/bunkers like that or that fire engine…try Germany.  That’s how well TMobile knows you!”

The email, which was sent Tuesday July 8, calls the Trump-backed FirstNet program a “broken” network with “broken trust.” T-Mobile continues to further attack the “shortcomings” and “failures” of FirstNet just four days after flash floods devastated Central Texas in the early morning of July 4, as first responders were in the middle of recovery efforts.

In a joint statement, the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) blasted T-Mobile’s apparent political move, accusing the company of trying to sabotage a vital national program for profit.

“Our concern is that for-profit companies are seeking to enrich their shareholders by hindering or blocking our reauthorization efforts,” they wrote. “They are not proposing a ‘fix.’ They are making a sales pitch for their product and service. They seem to believe that they know better than our members about their needs in the field. They do not.”

Even more problematic for T-Mobile, the company has been experiencing its own cybersecurity challenges. In May of this year, the company confirmed a data breach affecting millions of customers, for which compensation payments are now being distributed.

FirstNet has been backed by President Donald Trump’s administration and was designed to give first responders tools that the private sector failed to provide when it mattered most.

“Through programs like FirstNet, President Trump and this administration are working hard to keep Americans safe,” said former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross of the program. “These grant awards will help fulfill our mission, ensuring that first responders have access to advanced tools that can save lives.”

T-Mobile has not yet made a public statement on the intent behind the foreign source of the photo or the email language itself.