FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show Used Needles In Nancy Pelosi’s District?

Matt Noel | Fact Check Reporter

An image shared on Facebook more than 7,800 times purportedly shows a large pile of used syringes in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional district.

Verdict: False

The photo was actually taken at a 2017 needle clean up in Everett, Washington.

Fact Check:

Featured in the image is a large pile of used hypodermic needles on a blue tarp. The post and others with the same image claim people collected the needles in a San Francisco park while cleaning up a homeless camp.

“This is Nancy Pelosi’s district!” reads part of the caption. “Don’t let the Democrats have control of our country or your state will be next!” (RELATED: Viral Image Claims To Show Nancy Pelosi’s House And Her Congressional District)

The image, however, was actually taken at an October 2017 needle clean up event in Everett, Washington. Similar photos taken by the Daily Herald, which covers Everett and Snohomish County, and a video from the local Q13 Fox station show the same needle pile. The Daily Herald confirmed that the picture was taken at that clean up event, according to FactCheck.org.

The city of San Francisco, where the post falsely claimed the image was taken, does have issues with drug abuse and homelessness. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that fentanyl and heroin overdoses in the city more than doubled in 2019. The city also ranked sixth among U.S. cities with the highest homeless populations the same year, according to Forbes.

Matt Noel

Fact Check Reporter
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