Old photo of actor Chris Evans signing a model artillery shell recirculated amid Gaza offensive

Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Carolina governor and onetime Republican presidential candidate, recently drew criticism for writing "Finish Them!" on an Israeli artillery shell amid Israel’s continuing offensive in Gaza. 

Since then, some social media users unearthed a 2016 photo of actor Chris Evans, who has starred as Captain America in Marvel movies. 

"Chris Evans aka Captain America," read text above a picture posted June 1 on Facebook. It showed Evans signing something being held by a man wearing a U.S. Air Force uniform. "While you sign petitions, he signs bombs."

An image of a Palestinian flag and the words "free Palestine" appear above the text.  

The 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 and Instagram.)

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The image was taken in Turkey in December 2016 when Evans, among other celebrities, visited  the Incirlik Air Base as part of that year’s USO tour. 

In an May 31 Instagram story, Evans wrote, "There’s a lot of misinformation surrounding this picture." 

"Some clarification," he continued. "This image was taken during a USO tour in 2016. I went with a group of actors, athletes and musicians to show appreciation for our service members. The object I was asked to sign is not a bomb, or a missile, or a weapon of any kind."

The story has since expired, but The Hollywood Reporter reported Evans referred users to a February Agence France-Presse article in which a U.S. Air Force spokesperson said Evans was signing an artillery shell model intended for training — not an actual explosive device. 

We rate claims this image shows Evans signing a bomb during the assault on Gaza False.