Social Media Posts Fabricate a Political Endorsement by Altering Lady Gaga Photo – FactCheck.org

Quick Take

Lady Gaga campaigned for Joe Biden during the 2020 election and performed at his inauguration. But viral social media posts use an altered photo to falsely make it appear she has endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024. The performer, who has been highly critical of Trump, has not made a public endorsement in the 2024 race.

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The performer Lady Gaga, whose birth name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, has had an alliance with President Joe Biden that predates his presidency.

On Oct. 31, 2020, Lady Gaga tweeted a video in which she endorsed Biden for president, and she performed the national anthem at Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021.

But now viral posts on Twitter and Instagram have used altered images and a fabricated Truth Social post to falsely claim that Lady Gaga is endorsing Donald Trump for president in 2024. 

The posts show Lady Gaga standing behind a “Trump 2024″ sign, with the text: “I am proud to announce my endorsement of Donald J. Trump for President of the United States! America is struggling, and we need someone who knows what they’re doing to help us back up.”

The Instagram post has received more than 15,000 likes and the Twitter post has nearly 400,000 views.

The photo used in the posts, however, was taken at a rally for Biden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 2, 2020, and it shows Lady Gaga at a podium with a “Biden-Harris” sign.

During her remarks at the Biden rally, Lady Gaga urged voters not to support Trump. She said, “Everybody, no matter how you identify, now is your chance to vote against Donald Trump, a man who believes his fame gives him the right to grab one of your daughters, or sisters, or mothers or wives by any part of their bodies … Vote for Joe. He’s a good person.”

When Biden was vice president, he and Lady Gaga worked together on a White House effort, called “It’s On Us,” to fight sexual assault on college campuses. Biden also introduced Lady Gaga at the Academy Awards in 2016 to amplify the fight against sexual assault. 

It’s worth noting that Lady Gaga’s appearance at the Biden rally in 2020 prompted criticism from Trump. At Trump’s own Pennsylvania rally in 2020, he said to the crowd, “Lady Gaga is not too good. … I could tell you stories about Lady Gaga.” 

So, Trump and Lady Gaga have not been politically allied.

We could find no evidence that Lady Gaga has endorsed any candidate yet in the 2024 election.

It’s worth noting, however, that on April 13, Biden appointed Lady Gaga to be co-chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

Sources

Britannica. “Lady Gaga.” Updated 22 Jun 2023.

Lady Gaga. “I’m voting for America #vote #election2020.” Twitter. 31 Oct 2020.

Ryan, Patrick. “Lady Gaga stuns with rousing national anthem at Biden inauguration.” USA Today. Updated 22 Jan 2021.

Gold, Michael. “Lady Gaga, who performed the National Anthem, has longstanding ties to Biden.” New York Times. 20 Jan 2021. 

Getty Images. “US singer Lady Gaga speaks prior to Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden speaking during a Drive-In Rally at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 2020.” 2 Nov 2020.

C-SPAN. “Joe Biden Drive-in Rally in Pittsburgh with Lady Gaga.” 2 Nov 2020.

Aniftos, Rania. “Lady Gaga Pleads With America to ‘Vote Like Your Life Depends on It’ at Biden Rally.” Hollywood Reporter. 3 Nov 2020. 

Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. “Lady Gaga attacks Trump’s ‘grab’ remarks at Joe Biden rally.” The Guardian. 3 Nov 2020. 

Brewster, Jack. “Trump Attacks Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi And LeBron James During Rally On Election Day Eve.” Forbes. 2 Nov 2020. 

White House. Press release. “President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions.” 13 Apr 2023.