Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Rebecca Catalanello
By Rebecca Catalanello October 12, 2020

No, this photo does not show Nancy Pelosi inebriated, either

If Your Time is short

  • This photo is a cropped version of a photo taken Sept. 30, 2016, at Joint Andrews Base as Pelosi, Obama and other dignitaries debarked Air Force One after attending funeral services for former Israeli president Shimon Peres.
  • Other photos show the scene from a different angle. There is no indication Pelosi was inebriated.
     
  • Pelosi doesn't drink alcohol.
See the sources for this fact-check

An image making the rounds on social media purports to show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a "drunken" pose as President Barack Obama puckers near her cheek.

"Oh that ‘Crazy Nancy,’" reads text inside the image. "This needs to go viral. I’m sure she doesn’t want this drunken photo out there of her."

The image, which was posted Oct. 10 and shared hundreds of thousands of times, 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.)

It is a cropped version of a photo taken Sept. 30, 2016, at Joint Andrews Base by Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque.

"U.S. President Barack Obama kisses House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi upon their return from Israel to Joint Base Andrews in Washington September 30, 2016," reads a caption on an archived version of the photo.

Featured Fact-check

Pelosi, then House minority leader, and Obama were returning from Jerusalem, where earlier in the day they attended the funeral service for former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres.

Also returning on that flight were President Bill Clinton and then-Secretary of State John Kerry.

Another photographer from Getty Images was present for the plane debarking, and captured images from a different perspective showing the group walking single file down a mobile staircase.

News stories from that day included coverage of Clinton’s and Obama’s remarks at the Nobel peace laureate’s funeral. Pelosi’s office that day released a statement recognizing Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which would soon begin.

What we do not find in legitimate news archives is any coverage that suggests Pelosi, who does not drink alcohol, was drunk upon her return. But we have seen similar claims suggesting she was publicly inebriated many, many, many times before.

We rate this False.

Read About Our Process

The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Rebecca Catalanello

No, this photo does not show Nancy Pelosi inebriated, either

Load more

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up