Fact Check

Is Pic of Pro-Palestine Protester Holding 'You Don't Get To Choose Who We Rape' Sign Real?

The photo first went viral in early February 2024, but with different text.

Published Feb. 16, 2024

 (From left to right: @AzzatAlsaalem/X, @DrEliDavid/X)
Image courtesy of From left to right: @AzzatAlsaalem/X, @DrEliDavid/X
Claim:
A photograph authentically shows a pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign that says "You Don't Get To Choose Who We Rape."

In mid-February 2024, several social media accounts shared an image supposedly showing a pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign saying "You Don't Get To Choose Who We Rape":  

This photo was manipulated. The unedited version first went viral on X (formerly Twitter) two weeks earlier, on Feb. 3, 2024, showing the sign as it actually appeared. The text read "You Don't Get To Choose How We Resist"

The photo went viral, in part, because pro-Israel accounts re-shared doctored photos of the sign, suggesting they had "fixed it." The photo with the "resist" language has the same handwriting throughout, and predated any other variation of the sign, and is therefore the original. 

As such, the purported photo has been doctored and we have rated it "Fake."

Sources

"AzzatAlsaalem." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/AzzatAlsaalem/status/1757788018050531329. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

"DrEliDavid." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1753852920213168352. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

"TheShemTV." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/TheShemTV/status/1753925645506130322. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.
 

Alex Kasprak is an investigative journalist and science writer reporting on scientific misinformation, online fraud, and financial crime.