![true](https://static.politifact.com/CACHE/images/politifact/rulings/meter-false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.)
![false](https://static.politifact.com/politifact/rulings/meter-false.jpg)
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This photo’s official caption says former President Donald Trump was looking down, not sleeping.
An old photo of former President Donald Trump, sitting with his head bowed, is being shared anew on social media and presented as evidence that he was caught sleeping at a 2017 NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was seated next to Trump, is turned toward the then-president in the image.
"Remember that time when Trump fell asleep at the 2017 NATO summit? That was embarrassing," an Aug. 6 Threads post said.
But the official caption of the photo, taken by photographer Robert Ghement, tells a different story.
This 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, Instagram and Threads.)
Ghement took the photo in May 2017 at what was then the new NATO headquarters in Belgium.
The photo’s caption says Stoltenberg "chats with US President Donald J. Trump … who looks down during the inauguration ceremony of the new NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium."
We reviewed video footage of the ceremony, during which Stoltenberg gave a speech, and saw no evidence that Trump fell asleep. Trump was recorded looking at his phone, sitting as he appears in Ghement’s photo and with his arms crossed. But not snoozing.
We looked for but found no credible evidence, such as news stories or footage, showing Trump asleep.
We rate claims this photo shows Trump sleeping at the 2017 NATO summit False.
Threads post, Aug. 6, 2024
YouTube, New NATO Headquarters Handover Ceremony and Fly-past, 25 MAY 2017, May 25, 2017
Yahoo, Trump caught on camera – awkward moments at NATO summit, May 25, 2017
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