Photo of Canadian hockey fans insulting Trudeau is altered

Gwen Roley / AFP Canada
·2-min read

As Canada's 31-year National Hockey League title drought was extended with a game seven Stanley Cup Final loss by the Edmonton Oilers, an image shared on social media appeared to show crowd members holding signs spelling an expletive aimed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But a reverse image search reveals the picture is a manipulation of a photo of fans who held up the phrase "Believe" at an earlier game.

"Edmonton Oilers Fans With A Message For Justin Trudeau," reads the text over a June 24, 2024 Instagram photo shared by 6ixdriptv.

The image in the post appears to depict fans at a hockey match holding up signs which spell out the message: "Fuck Trudeau." Other versions of the picture spread to TikTok and appeared widely on X, where one user shared the photo as a response to a post by the Canadian leader.

<span>Screenshot of an Instagram post taken June 25, 2024</span>
Screenshot of an Instagram post taken June 25, 2024
<span>Screenshot of a post on X taken June 25, 2024</span>
Screenshot of a post on X taken June 25, 2024

The image spread on the same day as the Stanley Cup Final's decisive seventh game, which saw the Florida Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers in Sunrise, Florida.

Oilers fans were reported to out-shout the Panthers fans as their team attempted to become only the second team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the finals, but the images with the phrase seen in the social media posts were manipulated.

A reverse image search shows a similar photo taken on June 21 at game six at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, spelling out a different slogan: "Believe."

<span>Edmonton Oilers fans hold up letters spelling "Believe" prior to Game Six of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place on June 21, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta</span><div><span>BRUCE BENNETT</span><span>GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA</span></div>
Edmonton Oilers fans hold up letters spelling "Believe" prior to Game Six of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place on June 21, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta
BRUCE BENNETTGETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

The players standing in the foreground of the photo, which was credited to Bruce Bennett for Getty Images, sport the same names as those seen in the misleading posts.

Multiple news outlets shared the photo, which contained the same ads as those in the pictures depicting an expletive aimed at Trudeau.

<span>Screenshot of a photo shared on social media with elements highlighted by AFP</span>
Screenshot of a photo shared on social media with elements highlighted by AFP
<span>Screenshot of a photo credited to Getty Images taken June 25, 2024 with highlights added by AFP</span>
Screenshot of a photo credited to Getty Images taken June 25, 2024 with highlights added by AFP

While the phrase was not shared at the hockey game, the "F*ck Trudeau" slogan -- often substituting a maple leaf for the letter U -- is frequently used on social media and at protests to express discontent with Canada's Liberal leader.

Recent polling shows Trudeau's approval trending downward and suggests he will have difficulty holding on to power in the next federal election.

Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.

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