House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Nov. 17 that she’s stepping down from her leadership role in Congress, but a subsequent Instagram post claims it wasn’t Pelosi at all.

“It was announced that she’s stepping down as Speaker of the House after two decades,” the post said, “but the real Nancy was arrested by U.S. Marshals on Jan. 14, 2021 (see slide)….then on Jan. 20, 2021 (the fake inauguration of the fake president), two of the marshals are seen escorting her into the Capitol and telling her not to say anything.”

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

These claims are unfounded. U.S. marshals did not arrest Pelosi, and the allegations that she has been replaced by an impersonator are baseless. 

But let’s look at the post’s, ahem, evidence. The post’s photos include several images of Pelosi, including one labeled “Old Nancy” and one labeled “New Nancy.” 

The “Old Nancy” photo was taken by Reuters photographer Elizabeth Frantz in July 2021 as Pelosi held her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol. 

The “New Nancy” photo was posted on Twitter by CBS News reporter Cristina Corujo on March 1, 2022, during the State of the Union address. 

Both photos are of Pelosi — not an impersonator. 

Another photo in the post is described as showing marshals “arresting Pelosi from the Congress” and taking her to a “secret location.” 

In reality, the image, taken by Associated Press Photographer J. Scott Applewhite, shows Pelosi returning “to her leadership office after opening debate on the impeachment” of then-President Donald Trump on July 13, 2021. 

We rate this post Pants on Fire!