FACT CHECK: Was The St. Louis Arch Lit Up With The Colors Of The Ukrainian Flag?
An image shared on Facebook over 18,000 times purportedly shows the St. Louis Arch lit up with blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine.
Verdict: False
The image has been digitally edited. The arch has not been lit up with the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Fact Check:
Since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24, numerous worldwide monuments have been lit up in blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine. The Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye are just a few examples, according to Today.
An image shared on Facebook, which has garnered over 1,100 likes, appears to show the St. Louis Arch, also called the Gateway Arch, lit up in a similar fashion. “The St. Louis Arch lit up in solidarity for Ukraine,” the post’s caption claims.
The image is digitally edited. The original picture, showing the arch lit up with white lights as usual, can be seen on several stock photo websites, including Adobe and Shutterstock. (RELATED: Does This Photo Show The Statue Of Liberty In New York Draped In The Colors Of The Ukrainian Flag?)
No pictures of the arch being illuminated with blue and yellow lights have been shared on the monument’s official Facebook or Twitter page, nor has either page mentioned plans to do so.
On Mar. 8, Republican Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner introduced legislation to have the National Park Service light up the Gateway Arch in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, according to a press release on Wagner’s website. The legislation is still pending, KSDK News reports.
The arch has been lit up with commemorative colors in the past, including when it was illuminated with pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2006, according to an archive of a White House press release.