Fact Check

Was This Man Mugged While Delivering Comic Books to His Sick Daughter?

A photograph of actor Hugh Jackman from a film set was shared online with a joking explanation of what it depicted.

Published March 14, 2017

Claim:
A photograph shows a man who was mugged while delivering comic books to his sick daughter.

In March 2017, an image parodying the many heartstring-tugging items that are circulated on Facebook — along with exhortations to viewers to "like," "share," or add an "amen" to them — itself gained wide currency via social media. The image featured a photograph of a man who was purportedly mugged while delivering comic books to his sick daughter:

Of course, the pictured man's wounds did not stem from a mugging, and the pictured girl is neither sick nor the man's daughter.

This photograph shows actors Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen, on the set of the 2017 film Logan. The image was originally posted by Jackman to his Twitter page on 10 March 2017:

This viral meme most likely originated as a joke on the Facebook group "Comic Book Collecting," but the image managed to fool some social media users who were unfamiliar with the X-Men/Wolverine film franchise.

Similar japes have circulated on the internet in the past, such as a photograph from the movie Tropic Thunder that was shared as an image of Vietnam veterans, a clip from the movie Grown Ups 2 that was shared with the claim it depicted a dangerous accident in a toy store, and a clip from the movie The Shallows shared as if it depicted a genuine shark attack.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.