Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
X posts
X posts
stated on October 27, 2024 in an X post:

Image shows an anti-Trump billboard outside Madison Square Garden.

False
By Mia Penner
October 29, 2024

No, New Yorkers didn’t erect an anti-Trump sign outside Madison Square Garden during his rally

If your time is short

  • The image is altered.

  • The original photo taken April 20, 2020, showed a sign that said "We (Love) New York," with a heart shape representing the word "love."

  • The sign’s sentiment was shared as a pandemic quickly spread through New York City, one of the COVID-19 outbreak’s early U.S. hotspots. 

See the sources for this fact-check

Former President Donald Trump’s supporters packed into New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27 as he kicked off his final full week of campaigning, delivering what his team called his “closing message.” 

New Yorkers haven’t backed a Republican for president in 40 years and some gathered outside the event space to protest. But they didn’t erect an anti-Trump billboard outside the arena, despite online claims that appeared to show otherwise. 

An Oct. 27 X post showed an image of a Madison Square Garden sign that read “F—  Trump” and pictured an obscene hand gesture. “Looks like New Yorkers are all set for Donnie’s Madison Square Garden Nazi rally today,” the post’s caption read.

The same image circulated on Threads ahead of the rally. 

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

MSG rally embed for story, 10-29-2024
Figure 1: (Screenshot from X)

 (Screenshot from X.)

That’s because the image was digitally manipulated. The anti-Trump sign was tacked onto an image taken by a Getty Images photographer in April 2020, as coronavirus cases surged in New York City. 

Both images featured a clock showing “3:05” and a Verizon advertisement.

But the original image showed Madison Square Garden with a “We (love) New York” sign displayed outside — a show of solidarity for the city as it became an early hotspot of the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak. 

We rate the claim that an image shows a “F— Trump” billboard outside Madison Square Garden False. 

RELATED: Fact-checking Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York City

Our Sources

X post, Oct. 27, 2024

Threads post, Oct. 27, 2024

NBC News, Trump's Madison Square Garden rally overshadowed by his allies' crude and racist remarks, Oct. 28, 2024

270toWin, New York, accessed Oct. 29, 2024

Getty Images, New York City Continues To Idle During Coronavirus Shutdown, April 22, 2020

 

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Mia Penner
Threads posts
stated on November 11, 2024 a Threads post
“Sephora donated BIG to Trump’s campaign.”
False
Kamala Harris
stated on July 18, 2024 a campaign event in North Carolina
Project 2025 would “end Head Start.”
True
Facebook posts
stated on July 17, 2024 a Facebook post
A photo shows proof of a bullet hole in Trump’s jacket.
False
Instagram posts
stated on July 10, 2024 an Instagram post
Switzerland banned mammograms.
False

A 2019 “Project Runway” episode isn’t evidence for a COVID-19 conspiracy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino