Talladega Superspeedway did not host LGBTQ pride event

This article is more than one year old.
Published on June 23, 2023 at 22:58
3 min read
By AFP USA

Tweets and an article claim a racetrack in the US state of Alabama had record-low attendance at its 2023 LGBTQ pride event. This is false; Talladega Superspeedway did not host a "Pride Day" -- the image shared online is doctored and comes from a website that publishes satire.

"Talladega 'Pride Day' Achieves Lowest Attendance in Track History, Setting a Record. What genius thought this was a good idea?" says a June 20, 2023 tweet.

The post links to a June 5 article from a website called Sportal X.

"The recent 'Pride Day' event at Talladega Speedway has garnered attention for achieving the lowest attendance in the track's history, leading to concerns about the event's overall success," the story says.

Screenshot of a tweet taken June 23, 2023

The claim circulated elsewhere on Twitter amid a spike in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and misinformation during pride month in June.

The Sportal X article is false -- the website says it publishes satirical content, context that is omitted from posts resharing the image.

"Please note that some of the articles on this website are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously," Sportal X says on its "About" page. "These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate."

The illustration in the article is also doctored -- and it does not show Talladega Superspeedway, the longest track in NASCAR racing.

A reverse image search indicates Associated Press photographer Michael Conroy originally took the picture in 2017 in the state of Indiana.

"In this July 23, 2017, file photo, the field for the NASCAR Brickyard 400 auto race makes its way past fans in the stands in the first turn at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis," the caption says.

Screenshot of the Associated Press website taken on June 23, 2023.

All elements of the AP photo match the illustration in the satirical piece, except two elements -- including the rainbow flag.

Screenshot of Sportal X's illustration taken June 23, 2023

Screenshot of an AP photo taken June 23, 2023, with elements highlighted by AFP

AFP found no evidence that Talladega Superspeedway recently hosted a pride event. AFP contacted the racetrack and NASCAR for comment, but responses were not forthcoming.

More of AFP's reporting on LGBTQ-related misinformation is available here.

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