Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
Altered image appears to show Keanu Reeves holding anti-Trump shirt
If Your Time is short
-
This image was altered. The original doesn’t show actor Keanu Reeves holding a shirt against former President Donald Trump.
In 2018, PolitiFact fact-checked a fabricated quote attributed to actor Keanu Reeves, who purportedly said then-President Donald Trump was "the symbol of a successful man and a role model for every young American."
Reeves didn’t say that. And six years later, he also wasn’t photographed holding an anti-Trump shirt.
"Make prison great again," reads the text on a shirt with an image of Trump in an orange jumpsuit sitting behind bars. Reeves appears to be holding the shirt. An Oct. 27 Facebook post sharing the image 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, Instagram and Threads.)
This image was altered. The original, taken in 2017 in Milan, shows Reeves at EICMA, an international motorcycle exhibition. In this photo, his arms are at his sides — not holding up a shirt.
Featured Fact-check
This image has been edited to appear to show Reeves holding up other shirts. Snopes fact-checked one in which he looks like he’s displaying a pro-Trump shirt that says, "I will never stop fighting for America" and shows Trump with his fist raised after a July 13 assassination attempt.
We looked for but found no evidence that Reeves has endorsed Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, or Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
We rate claims this is an authentic image of Reeves False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Oct. 27, 2024
Threads post, Oct. 24, 2024
Facebook post, Oct. 26, 2024
Facebook post, Oct. 26, 2024
PolitiFact, No, Keanu Reeves did not call Donald Trump a ‘role model’ for American youth, March 5, 2018
Getty Images, EICMA 2017 - International Motorcycle Fair, Nov. 8, 2017
Snopes, Photo Shows Keanu Reeves Holding Pro-Trump T-Shirt?, Sept. 30, 2024
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
Altered image appears to show Keanu Reeves holding anti-Trump shirt
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.