FACT CHECK: Did Mike Tyson Wear A ‘Trust In God, Not In Vaccines’ Shirt?

An image shared on Facebook allegedly shows former professional boxer Mike Tyson wearing a “Trust in God, not in vaccines” t-shirt.

Verdict: False

The anti-vaccine message has been digitally edited onto Tyson’s shirt.

Fact Check:

The image shows Tyson standing in front of a brick wall wearing a black shirt that appears to say, “Trust in God, not in vaccines.” Tyson, a well-known boxer, became the youngest heavyweight champion in the sport’s history in 1986, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

A reverse image search revealed the picture has been manipulated. The original photo, which Tyson shared on his Instagram account in November 2020, actually depicts the former boxer wearing a t-shirt featuring a black-and-white picture of himself standing in a boxing ring. In the altered image, the anti-vaccine graphic has been digitally added.

“Photo shop,” said Joann Mignano, Tyson’s publicist, in an email to Check Your Fact when asked about the image shared on Facebook. (RELATED: Did Mike Tyson Offer Men $10 Million To Marry His Daughter?)

Check Your Fact didn’t find any instances of Tyson talking about his views on vaccines on his verified Twitter account or Facebook page. The former boxer did, however, have anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his podcast “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” in September 2020.

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, removed Kennedy Jr.’s account in February of this year for “repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,” a Facebook spokesperson said, according to NBC News.

Social media users have previously shared an image of Tyson that was photoshopped to include a graphic of a crossed-out syringe on his shirt, the fact-checking website Full Fact reported.

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