Fact check: Snapple didn’t mention 2020 election on its ‘Real Fact’ lids
The claim: An image of a Snapple ‘Real Fact’ lid mentions 2020 election results
More than six months after the 2020 elections, social media users are still disputing the results. And a photo of a Snapple bottle cap with its signature “Real Fact” saying former President Donald Trump lost is among the latest additions to the discussion.
“‘Real Fact’ 74,222,958: Trump lost and the election was not stolen,” reads the photo of the lid, which was posted on Facebook May 10.
Some Americans continue to claim the election was “stolen” from Trump, despite President Joe Biden receiving over 7 million votes more than him, and the Justice Department concluding there was no election fraud that could have changed the outcome.
The image has been shared over 150 times and has more than 850 reactions.
USA TODAY reached out to the user for comment.
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Dozens of the same image are circulating across Facebook and other platforms.
On Twitter, one image has been retweeted nearly 15,000 times since it was posted May 9. The earliest version of the photo USA TODAY found links back to a Reddit post from May 7.
While the image may appear to depict a trademark Snapple “Real Fact”, the company has said it’s fake.
Snapple says image was altered
Snapple’s “Real Facts” are normally light-hearted, trivia-like fun facts, like: “Chameleons can move both their eyes in different directions at the same time,” or “U.S. paper currency isn’t made of paper – it’s actually a blend of cotton and linen.”
A spokesperson at Keurig Dr. Pepper, which owns Snapple, told The Associated Press that the viral image is not real.
“I can confirm on behalf of the brand that this is not an official Snapple “Real Fact” printed on bottle caps,” Director of Corporate Communications Katie Gilroy said.
An additional search on Snapple’s online “Real Facts” directory didn’t return any results for a “Real Fact” mentioning Trump or the 2020 election.
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At first glance, the image shared on social media appears to be an actual “Real Fact” Snapple lid. The text is in the right format, written following the curve of the drink’s cap. But the words in the center of the lid, which say Trump lost the election, are in a different font.
Also, the number of the “Real Fact” shown on the cap normally is preceded by a pound sign, and the numbers of actual “Real Facts” don’t have commas, even if they are larger numbers. For example: “Real Fact #1024: Giraffes have the same number of vertebrae as humans: 7.”
The number on the social media image doesn’t have a pound sign and it has commas. It is presented as: “Real Fact 74,222,958,” which doesn’t match Snapple’s style.
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This is not the first time images of fake “Real Facts” have been shared online.
An image of “Real Fact #933: A crocodile can’t stick out its tongue” was altered to read: “Real Fact #933: Bush did 9/11,” alluding to false conspiracy theories that claim former President George W. Bush was behind the 9/11 attacks.
Our rating: Altered
We rate an image of a Snapple “Real Fact” cap saying Trump lost the election as ALTERED, based on our research. A spokesperson for the company told the AP the image has been altered and that it’s not an actual Snapple “Real Fact.” Additionally, there are some discrepancies in the style of the text that indicate it’s been manipulated.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Associated Press, May 10, Snapple ‘Real Fact’ message didn’t say Trump lost 2020 election
- Alex Cole, May 9, tweet
- Ezinem77, May 7, Reddit thread
- USA TODAY, Dec. 15, 2020, Fact check: Joe Biden legally won presidential election, despite persistent contrary claims
- USA TODAY, Dec. 1, 2020, Attorney General Barr: Justice Dept. finds no evidence of fraud to alter election outcome
- Snapple, accessed May 20, Real Fact #1024
- Snapple, accessed May 20, Real Fact #933
- Know Your Meme, accessed May 17, Snapple Facts “Real Fact”
- Snapple, accessed May 20, “Real Facts” search bar
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Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
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