FACT CHECK: Did Dwayne Johnson Send This Tweet About Al Qaida?

Elias AtienzaAugust 5, 2022

An image shared on Facebook claims actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sent a tweet that reads, “The hierarchy of power in Al-Qaeda is about to change.”
Verdict: False

There is no evidence Johnson sent such a tweet.

Fact Check:

The U.S. conducted a drone strike in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan on July 31 that killed Al-Qaida leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, according to CNN. Al-Zawahiri, who was reportedly deeply involved in the planning of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, had been named the leader of the terrorist group following the death of former leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, the outlet reported.

An image shared on Facebook claims Johnson recently offered his thoughts on the operation. The image shows what appears to be a screenshot of an Aug. 1 tweet from his verified Twitter account that reads, “The hierarchy of power in Al Qaeda is about to change.”

There is no evidence to suggest Johnson sent such a tweet. Check Your Fact searched his verified account but found no record of it. There is likewise nothing resembling the tweet on archived versions of his account from Aug. 1. Check Your Fact found no credible news reports about the actor commenting on the death of Al-Zawahiri.

The fake tweet may be a reference to a similar tweet posted by Johnson to promote the DC Comics film “Black Adam” in 2020. (RELATED: Did Dwayne Johnson Wear A ‘Keep America Trumpless’ Shirt?)

The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is about to change.
BLACK ADAM arrives TOMORROW at #DCFanDome.
He’s coming to crush them all. #ManInBlack #BLACKADAM pic.twitter.com/2jiHT62jED

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 22, 2020

One of the Twitter users who originally spread the graphic later told another user that Johnson “did not post this.”

I want to make it clear that he did not post this

— Siddhant Adlakha (@SiddhantAdlakha) August 1, 2022

This is not the first time the actor has been the subject of misinformation on social media. Check Your Fact recently debunked an image from June 2022 that allegedly showed The Rock wearing a t-shirt with the phrase “Keep America Trumpless.”