No, a PETA activist wasn’t taped to a tree after protesting a biker rally

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA, for short—believes animals shouldn’t be used to make clothes. They urge people to avoid leather (see: "How to Wear Vegan"). A recent Facebook post suggests they lobbied the wrong people.

"This is how police found one of three missing PETA protesters who chose a biker rally to whine about leather usage," reads the text above a photo of a man taped to a tree.

The post, which was published on Facebook on April 10, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

We tried to track down the photo's origin, but weren't able to conclusively find its source. Searching for the photo elsewhere online, however, we found it on blogs and websites as early as 2008. Our search also led us to this 2010 story on the website Glossynews.com.

The headline is, "Activists missing after declaring ‘war on leather’ at motorcycle rally." Here’s an excerpt:

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Instagram posts

stated on March 31, 2024 in an Instagram post

“ULEZ protesters covering cameras with bat boxes. Authorities not allowed to remove under their own law.”

"They peed on me!!!" charged one activist. "They grabbed me, and said I looked like I was French, and started calling me ‘La Trene’, and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day!"

If you think that sounds unbelievable, please trust your intuition. Because Glossynews.com markets itself on its website as "Glossy News Satire."

"We are fake news!" it says at the top of the site.

We rate this Facebook post Pants on Fire!

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2019-04-23 14:00:30 UTC

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A PETA activist was taped to a tree after protesting a biker rally.

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On the internet

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

2019-04-10

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