Fact Check

Did President Trump Ride in a Penis-Shaped Motorcade?

A photograph purportedly shows vehicles in President Trump's motorcade positioned in an unusual formation.

Published June 13, 2017

Claim:
An image shows President Trump's motorcade riding in a penis formation.

As an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election dominates headlines, the nation could perhaps use a moment of levity. Sadly, that moment will not be delivered by a phallus-shaped motorcade taking the President to the golf course (or to the G7 meeting in Canada).

The image purporting to show that motorcade, posted to social media in June 2017 (and again in June 2018), has been doctored.

Trump's going golfing.

Trump’s car being escorted to the #G72018
Well played Canadian Outriders.
Well played indeed.

This doctored image has been circulating since at least 2014 when it was shared with similar jokes about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although whoever created the graphic used a still shot from a video of Putin's May 2012 inauguration, that video never featured a group of motorcycles riding in phallic formation.

Here's a graphic comparing the doctored image (top) and the genuine still (bottom):

You can spot the image of the motorcade at the 22:05 mark of the following video:

Sources

White, Alan.   "Sadly Vladimir Putin Hasn't Been Driving Round in a Motorcade Shaped Like a Penis."     BuzzFeed News.   10 November 2014.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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