Snopes Collection: George Floyd Protests

29 Articles

Misinformation abounds in the wake of nationwide protests.

Snopes Staff

Published 2 June 2020

Image via Wikimedia Commons/Rosa Pineda CC BY-SA 4.0

Rumors are surging in the wake of George Floyd’s death and resulting protests against police violence and racial injustice in the United States. Stay informed. Read our special coverage, contribute to support our mission, and submit any tips or claims you see here.

On Memorial Day 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, George Floyd died after officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for roughly nine minutes. Video of his death kicked off a protest movement ⁠— first in Minneapolis, then in cities around the United States and other countries ⁠— which has been met with fierce backlash from law enforcement officials and others.

The protests have set off waves of unrest and, with it, misinformation. Snopes is actively investigating rumors and claims around the death of Floyd and subsequent protests. We’ll be collecting them here.

If you see a rumor or claim that should be checked, you can send Snopes a tip.

Did ‘Antifa’ Recruit Protesters on Craigslist in Nebraska? “We are ANTIFA, and we're willing to pay up to 1,000 people $25 per hour...

Fact Check

False

Was Pushed Buffalo Protester an ‘Antifa’ Agitator? To support a claim like this, one wants some evidence other than a slow motion...

News

Is This a Pic of a ‘Beheaded’ Christopher Columbus Statue? The photo of the explorer surfaced in early June 2020.

Fact Check

True

Were Several Cops Killed at George Floyd Protests? Misleading memes have misrepresented or mislabeled the circumstances of several officers' deaths.

News

Did Obama Foundation Share Pic of George Floyd 9 Days Before He Died? A May 2020 Obama Foundation tweet became the focus of a new conspiracy theory.

Fact Check

False

Is This Photo of an Officer Aiming a Rubber Bullet Gun Near a Child Real? The photographer described the image as "the most impactful picture I have ever taken."

Fact Check

True

Does This Flyer Accurately Represent Derek Chauvin’s Police Actions? Here's what we know so far about the now-fired Minneapolis police officer who spurred protests...

Fact Check

Mixture

Did the Internet Go Dark in D.C. During White House Protests? The origin of the rumor — that internet and cell service went dark during police...

Fact Check

False

Does This Picture Show Hitler Holding a Bible? U.S. President Donald Trump's use of force to clear an area in front of a...

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False

Did Members of the NYPD Wear ‘I Can Breathe’ Shirts in 2020 Protest? A photograph showing men in "I Can Breathe" shirts, holding signs supporting the New York...

Fact Check

Miscaptioned

Did Zoo Animals Escape During George Floyd Protests? Tigers, giraffes, and hippos, oh my!

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Miscaptioned

Did ‘The Simpsons’ Predict George Floyd’s Death? Predictions are typically made prior to the event they are predicting.

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False

Does This Video Show an FBI Agent Arrested During 2020 Protests? This video was originally shared as an example of racial profiling.

Fact Check

Miscaptioned

Is This Ex-Minn. Cop Derek Chauvin Wearing a ‘Make Whites Great Again’ Hat? Chauvin is the former Minneapolis police officer identified in news reports as the killer of...

Fact Check

Miscaptioned

Is This ‘Ricky Ellsworth,’ a White Woman Killed by Black Minnesota Cop? A viral meme got key facts wrong while attempting to make a point about police...

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Miscaptioned

Did Derek Chauvin Commit Suicide in Prison? Junk news in, junk news out.

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False

Does Video Show Police Officer Smashing Windows During Minn. Protests? St. Paul Police Department issued a statement about the man depicted in the controversial video.

Fact Check

Unproven

Did George Floyd and Then-Officer Derek Chauvin Work Together in Minneapolis? Questions surfaced about the possibility that a Minneapolis police officer knew the man who died...

Fact Check

Mixture

Did Trump Praise Then-Minneapolis Cop Derek Chauvin at Rally? Chauvin has been blamed for the death of George Floyd, who died after the Minneapolis...

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False

Is ProtestJobs.com a Real Service for Hiring Protesters? "Most in the FAKE NEWS media will claim there's no such thing as a paid...

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False

Is This an Instruction Manual for George Floyd Protesters? Democrats, antifa, and George Soros are the usual bogeymen claimed to be behind liberal political...

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False

Was This McDonald’s Burned During Floyd Protests? Grease fires are an occupational hazard at restaurants, protests or no protests.

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Miscaptioned

Is This a Real Anarchist Recruitment Flyer? "We condemn those who would undermine our democracy by spreading lies to our fellow citizens"

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False

Did Trump Tweet George Floyd’s Family Was ‘Honored to Hear from Me’? Controversy over the Minnesota man's death was stoked in a fake tweet attributed to President...

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False

Does This Video Show ‘Child Militia’ Deployed in Atlanta? A short, sketchy social media video created a misleading impression of forces called out to...

Fact Check

False

Did Twitter Slap a Warning Label on a Trump Tweet for ‘Glorifying Violence’? The U.S. president's tweets about May 2020 protests of police in Minneapolis generated heated reactions.

Fact Check

True

Did Trump and George Wallace Both Say, ‘When the Looting Starts, the Shooting Starts’? The president's use of this infamous quote in May 2020 raised questions about its origins.