claim: an image depicts ariana grande defiling the american flag.
question: did ariana grande defile the american flag?
origin: on 22 may 2017 an explosion killed more than 20 concertgoers at an ariana grande concert in manchester, england; shortly afterwards, a photograph spread that purportedly depicted the singer using an american flag as toilet paper:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  although the origin of the image isn’t immediately clear, facebook user joe abrahamson posted the image less than 24 hours after the manchester attack. his post was shared over 40,000 times at the time of this writing:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the impetus for spreading the photograph was also unclear, but the claim was easily debunked. a reverse image search led to a july 2015 controversy (#fyoflag) which involved a social media user going by the name nocturnus libertus. grande’s visage was edited onto the inflammatory photograph, which then went viral following the tragedy:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  during a separate controversy involving grande in 2015, a satirical article suggesting the singer joined isis was mistaken for legitimate news.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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comment: following a 22 may 2017 tragedy in manchester, a photoshopped image of ariana grande defiling an american flag circulated.
summary: facebook user joe abrahamson posted the image less than 24 hours after the manchester attack. the image was shared over 40,000 times at the time of this writing. a reverse image search led to a july 2015 controversy involving a social media user going by the name nocturnus libertus. grande’s visage was edited onto the inflammatory photograph, which then went viral following the tragedy. in a separate controversy, a satirical article suggesting the singer joined isis was mistaken for legitimate news.