FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show John Fetterman After His Admittance To The Hospital For Depression?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims to show Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman three weeks after his admittance to the hospital for depression.

Verdict: False

The image is from May 2022, after Fetterman was released from the hospital for his stroke. There is no evidence that Fetterman has a body double.

Fact Check:

Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression in February 2022, according to NBC News. Fetterman’s office said Mar. 23 he would be returning to the Senate soon, but no official timetable has been set, CBS News reported.

The Facebook image juxtaposes two images of Fetterman. The Facebook post’s caption reads, “In only 3 weeks, John Fetterman got a total head replacement. Man, he has some good doctors.” The claim went viral on Twitter, with several iterations showing a different image of Fetterman.

The image on the right, however, is from May 2022. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image is from Fetterman’s release from the hospital after his stroke. The photo was provided to WESA by the Fetterman campaign.

The other image in the Facebook image is from Feb. 7 and shows Fetterman and Dennis Horton, his guest to the State of the Union. The image was shared on Fetterman’s Senate Twitter account.

The other image shared on social media can be traced back to 2019, such as this Philadelphia Inquirer article. There is no evidence that Fetterman is using a body double, according to Vice News.

Shayan Sardarizadeh, a BBC reporter who monitors misinformation, also addressed the claim on Twitter. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Debate Between Donald Trump And Barack Obama?)

“Some right-wing Twitter users are spreading the absurd claim that recent images of newly elected Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who’s been seeking treatment for depression, prove he’s been replaced by a body double,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.

Check Your Fact reached out to Fetterman’s office for comment and will update this article if a response is provided.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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