Image of fan waving middle fingers at Trump is from 2023, not Super Bowl LIX | Fact check

The claim: Image shows Trump at Super Bowl LIX

A Feb. 9 Threads post (direct link, archive link) includes an image of a person in a crowd making an obscene gesture toward President Donald Trump.

“Trump has arrived at the Super Bowl LIX,” reads the post.

It was reposted more than 50 times in four days. Similar posts were shared on Instagram.

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Our rating: False

The image is miscaptioned. It shows Trump at a Sept. 9, 2023, college football game between Iowa and Iowa State.

Trump met with cheers and boos at 2023 college football game

Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl when he went to New Orleans on Feb. 9 to watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Trump left the game at halftime, but he appeared on the field before the game and was shown on the Jumbotron during the national anthem.

But the image in the Threads post wasn’t taken at the Super Bowl. It shows then-candidate Trump at a college football game between Iowa and Iowa State on Sept. 9, 2023.

Trump’s appearance at that game was followed by videos on social media of the crowd booing, and a “photo that quickly gained traction of an Iowa State fan flipping off the former president with his middle fingers,” USA TODAY reported.

Fact check: No, image doesn’t show real Trump post about Department of Education

Trump shared a video on Truth Social on Sept. 9, 2023, that shows him greeting a crowd of cheering fans as he arrives at the game, along with a caption that reads, “Having a great time in Iowa!” The image of the fan raising two middle fingers at Trump was posted online that same day.

The New York Times also reported that “some attendees gave (Trump) the middle finger from the stands while he looked on from the glass-paneled box from which he watched the game.”

The social media user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

Our fact-check sources

• USA TODAY, Sept. 10, 2023, Donald Trump booed at Iowa vs. Iowa State football game. But there were cheers too.
• Donald J. Trump, Sept. 9, 2023, Truth Social post
• MeidasTouch, Sept. 9, 2023, Instagram post
• Reddit, Sept. 9, 2023, Trump at the Iowa/Iowa State Game today
• The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2023, At Iowa’s Biggest Game, Football and Politics Collide

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