A post shared on X allegedly shows former President Richard Nixon on a phone call with the astronauts on Apollo 11, the first mission to the moon, with a photo in the background taken of the same mission. 

There’s not knowing; there’s ignorance; and there’s willful compliance. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/vfMt5HesKA

— bluemontauk (@bluemontauk) January 28, 2024

Verdict: False

The background photo was taken on the Apollo 8 mission, which occurred in the year prior to Apollo 11.

Fact Check: 

Lunar lander Odysseus, which touched down on the moon last week, lost power and went dormant on Thursday, according to Reuters. Odysseus was the first U.S. spacecraft to touch down on the moon in half a century, the outlet reported.

An X post seems to suggest that the moon landing was faked. The photo appears to show Nixon with a landline phone pressed to his ear while a framed photo allegedly taken from the moon can be seen on the wall nearby.

“Nixon talking to Apollo 11 on a landline phone with a picture taken from the moon in the background,” reads text overlaid on the image. “Take your time.”

The image is miscaptioned, however. The framed photo actually shows Apollo 8, according to the NASA website. This was the first crewed spacecraft to circumnavigate the moon, as opposed to landing on it, according to its description. (RELATED: No, Buzz Aldrin Did Not Tweet The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Was Faked)

Apollo 8 orbited on Christmas Eve in 1968, Forbes reported. On the other hand, the Apollo 11 mission in which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the moon, took place on July 20, 1969, according to Britannica.

The full video can be viewed on YouTube by the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, and the specific screenshot can be seen around the 2:03 timestamp. “On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission brought the first humans to the Moon,” the description reads in part. “On that day President Nixon spoke with crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin via telephone-radio transmission.”

Check Your Fact has reached out to NASA for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.