Piper Palin Flipping the Bird

Claim:   Photograph shows Piper Palin flipping off a little boy.

Status:   False.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, October 2008]

Is this really photo of Sarah Palin's daughter giving someone "the finger"? If Obama's daughter was caught doing this, the election would be over!!

Origins:   The photograph displayed above is a picture of Piper Palin, the seven-year-old daughter of Alaska governor (and Republican vice-presidential nominee) Sarah Palin, taken at the Governor's 3rd Annual Mat-Su (Matanuska-Susitna) Picnic and Military Appreciation Ceremony. However, young Piper wasn't captured on camera "flipping off," "giving the finger," "flipping the bird," or any other euphemism for the impolite display of contempt that involves holding up one's hand with the middle finger extended. The image is an altered version of a photograph displayed on the Alaska Governor's web site, one which shows that Piper was actually holding up two fingers at the time the picture was snapped:

Last updated:   17 October 2008