Paul Pelosi hasn’t been seen in public for months because he had mpox.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, made his first public appearance since being attacked by a hammer-wielding man on Oct. 28.

The Pelosis attended the 45th Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 4, where celebrities such as actor George Clooney, singer Gladys Knight and the rock band U2 were feted for their achievements in the arts.

The attack on Pelosi in his San Francisco home has sparked numerous conspiracy theories, many of which we’ve debunked.

His first public appearance sparked another. This one appears to play off the baseless conspiracy that he and his attacker had a sexual relationship.

A caption on a Dec. 5 Instagram post read, “Paul Pelosi is seen in public for the first time, since he was ‘attacked’ in his home, at the Kennedy Center Honors. #PelosiPox.” Next to it is a photo of Pelosi at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. A close-up image inset in the photo supposedly shows Pelosi’s chin peppered with mpox lesions.

The Instagram 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.)

Monkeypox was renamed mpox in November after the World Health Organization deemed the name racist and stigmatizing. The virus, which is similar but less deadly than smallpox,  is endemic to Africa, but cases had spread to Europe and the U.S. this past summer. 

The outbreak prompted Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to issue a public health emergency in August; the department expects it to end Jan. 31, given the low case count.

Although anyone can get the virus, which is spread by close contact with an infected person, the majority of cases in the 2022 outbreak were among men who have sex with men, the Centers for Disease Control said.

After Pelosi was attacked, there were numerous false claims on social media that he and his attacker knew each other and had a sexual relationship. 

According to federal authorities, David DePape, the man charged in the attack, and Pelosi did not know each other. In a November grand jury indictment, authorities said Pelosi called 911 and said there was “an unknown man” in his home. 

DePape admitted in an interview with police to breaking into the home with a hammer. He described waking Pelosi up and asking about Nancy Pelosi’s whereabouts, the indictment read.

DePape was charged with one count of assault on an immediate family member of a U.S. official with the intent to retaliate against the official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official. DePape also faces several state charges in the attack. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Pelosi suffered a fractured skull that required surgery in the attack, and serious injuries to his hands and right arm. Photos of him at the Kennedy Center Honors do not show any scars or lesions on his face. He was wearing a glove on one hand and a black hat.

Our ruling

An Instagram post suggested Paul Pelosi had not been seen in public for months because he had mpox, not because he was recovering from being attacked in his home. The post appears to play off baseless claims that Pelosi had a sexual relationship with his attacker.

News photos from the Kennedy Center Honors do not show any scars on Pelosi’s chin. There’s no evidence Pelosi and his attacker knew each other, federal authorities have said. There’s also no evidence Pelosi had mpox. We rate this claim Pants on Fire!