Mike Tyson posed with the Palestinian flag before his Nov. 15 fight against Jake Paul.
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Jake Paul and Mike Tyson embrace after their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP)
No, Mike Tyson didn’t pose with Palestinian flag before Jake Paul fight
If Your Time is short
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Viral photos claim to show boxer Mike Tyson with a Palestinian flag around his neck and shoulders before his Nov. 15 match with YouTube star Jake Paul.
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But video footage of Tyson’s prematch appearances does not show him with the flag.
Viral social media posts claim former two-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson draped the Palestinian flag around his body ahead of his highly publicized Nov. 15 boxing match with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
"Mike Tyson poses with the Palestinian flag before his historic fight," a Nov. 15 Facebook post said. The post included an image of Tyson with the four-color flag resting on his neck and shoulders. A different Facebook post claimed Tyson wore the flag a day before his fight with Paul.
We saw similar posts on X.
The Facebook 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, Threads and Instagram.)
These claims are wrong. Tyson, 58, didn’t display the Palestinian flag during his prematch appearance or during the fight which he lost to Paul, 27. Some said Tyson wore the flag a day before his match but his public appearance on that day does not support this.
Featured Fact-check
We reviewed the livestream of the Nov. 14 prematch weigh-in and it shows Tyson wore a personally branded jacket and Versace bottoms. The photo in the claim shows Tyson in a boxing ring, but the weigh-in was at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas, not in a boxing ring.
On fight night, Tyson wore a short-sleeved black poncho and black shorts. We found no photos showing Tyson and the Palestinian flag from news agencies that covered this match. The lack of photos from trusted news sources for a highly publicized event signal this image is not authentic.
We rate the claim that Tyson posed with the Palestinian flag False.
Our Sources
Facebook post (archived link), Nov. 15, 2024
Facebook post (archived link), Nov. 15, 2024
Threads post (archived link), Nov. 17, 2024
X post, (archived link), Nov. 17, 2024
CBS Sports, Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight winner, results: Social media star beats legendary 58-year-old in sloppy affair, Nov 16, 2024
BBC News, Paul beats Tyson, 58, on points in drab contest, Nov. 16, 2024
Religion Unplugged, How Islam And Redemption Transformed Boxer Mike Tyson’s Life, Nov. 15, 2024
YouTube, Netflix Sports, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: MVP Weigh-In, Nov. 14, 2024
YouTube, Netflix Sports - Mike Tyson's Entrance | Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, Nov. 16, 2024
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No, Mike Tyson didn’t pose with Palestinian flag before Jake Paul fight
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