No, a George Floyd statue wasn't removed from the National Mall | Fact check
The claim: George Floyd statue removed from National Mall
A Jan. 25 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims a statue of George Floyd, the Black man whose death at the hands of a white police officer sparked nationwide racial justice protests in 2020 has been removed from Washington D.C.
“George Floyd Statue has been removed from the National Mall,” the post reads. “#MAGAWINNING.”
The post was shared nearly 500 times in 17 days, and similar claims spread on X.
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Our rating: False
The National Mall never displayed a statue of Floyd. The claim originated on a satirical news website.
No such statue of Floyd exists
Floyd was killed in May 2020 when then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The incident was caught on camera and sparked worldwide protests.
In April 2021, a jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. The former officer was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.
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Floyd's death energized existing calls for police reform and inspired artwork in his likeness. However, the National Mall – home to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial – never displayed a statue of Floyd, the National Park Service told Reuters.
The claim originated on the satirical Dunning-Kruger Times website, which describes itself as part of the “‘America’s Last Line of Defense’ network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery.”
The Facebook post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where content written as satire and presented that way originally is reposted in a way that makes it appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.
Statues of Floyd remain on display in Brooklyn, New York, and Newark, New Jersey. Some versions of the claim included photos of those works.
Paste BN reached out to the National Parks Service and the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories also debunked this claim.
Our fact-check sources
- Reuters, Feb. 7, Fact Check: No George Floyd statue ever erected at National Mall, contrary to claims
- Paste BN, June 25, 2021, 'Shameful': George Floyd statues, unveiled for Juneteenth, vandalized in NYC, New Jersey
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