Dodgy social media posts claimed some Super Bowl advertisements were missing from the television roster. The claims said the NFL shunned ads by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, an advisory group tasked with slashing government spending.
“The NFL admits to canceling Elon’s DOGE Super Bowl ads,” a Feb. 15 Threads post said. “Time to cancel the NFL.”
We saw a similar claim about Elon Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO who’s spearheading DOGE, in an Instagram video.
The Threads post and Instagram video were 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, Threads and Instagram.)
These posts are not factual. The claim originated from a Feb. 12 Facebook post by America’s Last Line of Defense, which posts satirical content about political news and pop culture. The account’s description says, “Nothing on this page is real.” But other users, such as the Threads post, often repackage the stories without that caveat.
PolitiFact has previously debunked claims that Musk spent $40 million on five DOGE Super Bowl commercials. There were no DOGE ads that night.
We found no reports that DOGE planned to advertise during the Feb. 9 Super Bowl telecast — much less that the NFL admitted to canceling the group’s ads. A search of Musk’s X account turned up no posts about the league axing DOGE ads.
Fact-checkers at LeadStories rated similar claims false. The NFL did not respond to PolitiFact’s request for comment.
Although Musk has become the unofficial head of DOGE, the White House clarified Feb. 17 that he has no official role with the department in recent court filings.
We rate the claim that the NFL canceled DOGE ads False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
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This claim originated from satire.
Statement
Context
a photoSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Threads post (archived link), Feb. 15, 2025
PolitiFact, Elon Musk didn’t pay $40 million for five DOGE Super Bowl commercials, Feb. 13, 2025
LeadStories, Fact Check: Story NFL 'Admitted' To Canceling Elon Musk Super Bowl Ads Originated On Satirical Facebook Page, Feb. 13, 2025
Facebook, America's Last Line Of Defense, Feb. 12, 2025
X (Elon Musk), Feb. 17, 2025
Court Listener, State of New Mexico v Musk, accessed Feb. 18, 2025
Axios, Musk is not a DOGE employee and "has no actual or formal authority," WH says, Feb. 18, 2025
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