A PETA activist was taped to a tree after protesting a biker rally.
No, a PETA activist wasn’t taped to a tree after protesting a biker rally
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA, for short—believes animals shouldn’t be used to make clothes. They urge people to avoid leather (see: “How to Wear Vegan”). A recent Facebook post suggests they lobbied the wrong people.
“This is how police found one of three missing PETA protesters who chose a biker rally to whine about leather usage,” reads the text above a photo of a man taped to a tree.
The post, which was published on Facebook on April 10, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
We tried to track down the photo’s origin, but weren’t able to conclusively find its source. Searching for the photo elsewhere online, however, we found it on blogs and websites as early as 2008. Our search also led us to this 2010 story on the website Glossynews.com.
The headline is, “Activists missing after declaring ‘war on leather’ at motorcycle rally.” Here’s an excerpt:
“They peed on me!!!” charged one activist. “They grabbed me, and said I looked like I was French, and started calling me ‘La Trene’, and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day!”
If you think that sounds unbelievable, please trust your intuition. Because Glossynews.com markets itself on its website as “Glossy News Satire.”
“We are fake news!” it says at the top of the site.
We rate this Facebook post Pants on Fire!
PolitiFact Rating: 
Our Sources
Facebook post, April 10, 2019
TinEye search, April 17, 2019
Glossynews.com, "Activists missing after declaring ‘war on leather’ at motorcycle rally," Jan. 7, 2010
Thespoof.com, "Three reported missing activists take ‘war on leather’ to motorcycle gang rally," Jan. 3, 2019
