Sylvester Stallone didn’t wear this partisan ‘4 useless things’ t-shirt

A photo of Sylvester Stallone wearing a t-shirt with a hyperpartisan message is being shared online, but it’s not authentic. It’s a stock photo that has been digitally manipulated. Let’s take a look at the facts.

The actor Sylvester Stallone did not wear a t-shirt that disparaged “woke” people, COVID-19 vaccines, Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Joe Biden as “4 useless things.”

This is a doctored copy of a stock photo in which Stallone is wearing a plain dark t-shirt.

NewsLit takeaway

Digitally manipulating photos of celebrities to make it look like they endorse a provocative political message — often on t-shirts — is extremely common. Such posts are designed to resonate with people who have strong partisan views and may share the image without pausing to consider whether it’s authentic. It’s also likely that some of these fakes are marketing ploys to boost sales of t-shirts that are easily found for sale online. For example, this reply to an influential Twitter account includes the same doctored image and a link to a product page where the shirt can be purchased.

Featured Fact-Checks

“Fact check: Altered image shows Sylvester Stallone with T-shirt message mocking Biden, Fauci” (Nayeli Lomeli, USA Today).