A photoshopped image of a cheered-on NFL player burning the American flag made the rounds on conservative social media pages on Thursday.
At least one other clue that the photo is a fake? A fire would have set off the sprinklers in the locker room.
The fact that the sprinklers aren't going off tells you this is fake
— Federalist 65 (@SadFndngFathers) September 29, 2017
The appearance of the photoshopped image follows a week of national debate over athletes kneeling during the national anthem at sporting events—an action that began as a silent protest against racism that has now been conflated with disrespecting the flag.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that NFL owners should fire any “son of a bitch” that kneeled during the national anthem, referring to Colin Kaepernick. The quarterback kneeled last year to protest against police brutality toward minorities.
After Trump’s comments last weekend, players, coaches and team owners asserted their right to protest by kneeling, linking arms, or sitting in the locker rooms during the national anthem. Trump continued to tweet about the silent protests, falsely equating it to being disrespectful to the flag and veterans, with his supporters also asserting the same across social media.
Meanwhile, users posted the hashtags #VetsForKaepernick and #TaketheKnee to show their support for the athletes and their protests against racism.
H/T BuzzFeed News