“The 9/11 Memorial in NYC was just defaced with graffiti.”
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No, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City wasn’t defaced
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- A spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial said it has not been defaced.
A June 5 Facebook post (since deleted) expresses disbelief that Americans still support demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in police custody after "the 9/11 Memorial in NYC was just defaced with graffiti."
But it wasn’t, and this post (and others like it) was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Michael Frazier, a spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, told PolitiFact on June 8 that the Facebook post is wrong. "It is not true," he said.
In February, a 9/11 memorial in Plymouth, Mass., was damaged a week after Plymouth Rock was vandalized with red graffiti, CNN reported at the time.
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But we found no news coverage of such vandalism at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. And there remained no coverage when we looked at this again on June 24, 2020, as versions of the post were being reshared.
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This isn’t the first incorrect claim about vandalism during protests that we’ve checked. For the record: The Lincoln Memorial wasn’t covered in graffiti, President Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame wasn’t destroyed, this Vietnam memorial wasn’t defaced by Black Lives Matters demonstrators, and these war memorials weren’t either.
We rate this Facebook post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 5, 2020
CNN, Plymouth’s 9/11 memorial was vandalized a week after someone defaced the town’s iconic rock, Feb. 24, 2020
Email interview with Michael Frazier, executive vice president and deputy director for external affairs, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, June 8, 2020
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No, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City wasn’t defaced
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