Fact Check

Did Hampton United Methodist Church Mock Trump on its Sign?

A photograph that purportedly shows a church sign bearing a joke calling Donald Trump a "pervert" and a "fascist" is a fake.

Published Jan. 19, 2017

Claim:
The Hampton United Methodist Church called Donald Trump a pervert, a con artist, and a fascist on their church sign.

In January 2017, not long before the official inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, an image purportedly showing a message on the sign for the Hampton United Methodist Church made the rounds on social media:

church sign
A perv, a con artist, and a fascist walk into a bar. Bartender says, "What'll it be, Mr. President-Elect?"

This is not a real photograph showing a joke about Donald Trump written on a church sign. In fact, it doesn't even show a real church sign. The original image shows a sign outside Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland, California and can be glimpsed at the 42-second mark of the following video about the school's 2012 graduation:


This particular sign has been used in dozens of internet jokes, most likely because it is available as a sign template on Redkid.org:

fake sign

There are several places of worship called "Hampton United Methodist Church," but this photograph does not show any of them.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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