Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke August 19, 2022

Story about parents changing baby’s gender fake

If Your Time is short

  • This story isn’t real. 
 

An image of a couple holding a baby is being shared on social media under a title sure to grab attention.
"Discovering our baby was trans was an emotional roller coaster," it says.

More details are provided below the photo.

"When little DeSquarious (gendered birth name) crawled to the blue card we were both a little disappointed," the text says. "However, this was best 2 out of 3 so we knew there was still a chance. Then a miracle happened. DeSquarious crawled to the link card the next 2 times and became LaSquarious Jackson! Our little beautiful trans girl is now ready to take on the world! It’s been a long road getting here."

One post sharing the image said: "I’m sick of this twisted agenda being pushed on our children/youth. This baby boy has no idea yet the wickedness surrounding him. He hasn’t even had a chance in life yet to grow into the man he’s destined to be. I’m baffled. This is pure CHILD ABUSE."

This 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 Facebook.)

Featured Fact-check

A reverse image search of the photo led us to a 2017 article in the Independent about two transgender partners who "put their transitions on hold to allow them to have a biological child." 

They had a daughter, who was one at the time the feature was published. There’s no mention in the story of her gender identity changing, and the child’s name is not either of the names that appear in the Facebook post. A similar story about the family that appeared in the New York Post did not contain those details either.

We also found a blog post about the family when the baby was four months old. She was then described as the couple’s daughter, and she had the same name that appeared in the later news stories. Most babies start to crawl between seven and nine months of age, according to the Mayo Clinic

Searching for the title that appears in the post, we  found it only on a meme site. 

There’s no credible source to corroborate this claim. 

We rate it Pants on Fire!

 

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

Story about parents changing baby’s gender fake

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up