Ben & Jerry’s Fake ‘Free Palestine’ Flavor
PLUS: No Injured Flight Attendant on Macron’s Plane; Joe Rogan Touts Bogus COVID Vaccine Death Stats
Welcome to Reality Check, original reporting that’s your BS detector.
The AI companies have raised $214 billion. Give us $5.00 a month to help us keep them honest by becoming a Reality Check Premium Member. And forward this email to a friend to spread the word!
Follow us on your social media platform of choice: X | LinkedIn | Instagram | Bluesky
In today’s edition, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel sources are both pushing an AI-generated image of Ben & Jerry’s “Free Palestine” flavor; critics of French President Macron are misrepresenting footage of his wife’s airplane slap to claim that a flight attendant was injured in the scuffle; and Joe Rogan gains millions of views advancing a debunked COVID-19 vaccine claim.
Plus: NewsGuard’s “False Claim of the Week”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Sofia Rubinson and Eric Effron.
1. No, Ben & Jerry’s Is Not Selling a ‘Free Palestine’ Ice Cream Flavor
By Hilary Hersh
What happened: Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli social media users alike are falsely claiming that Ben & Jerry’s launched a “Free Palestine” flavor, citing an AI-generated image of a carton that displays that supposed flavor along with the controversial phrase “From the river to the sea.”
Context: Since founding Ben & Jerry’s in 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have advocated for left-wing causes and have been outspoken critics of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Cohen was arrested while participating in a pro-Palestinian protest at the U.S. Senate on May 14, 2025. He was charged with a misdemeanor and released from police custody. It does not appear that Cohen entered a plea.
In November 2024, Ben & Jerry’s sued its now-owner Unilever, the British-Dutch conglomerate that bought the company in 2000, accusing it of trying to stifle Ben & Jerry’s pro-Palestine protests. Commenting on the suit, Unilever told Reuters in a statement, "Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East. We reject the claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly." The suit is pending.
A closer look: In late May, an image circulated online showing a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor supposedly named “Free Palestine.” In addition to the phrase “From the river to the sea,” the package displayed two smiling children wearing traditional Arabic headscarves known as kaffiyehs, standing over a platter of fish. (Fish are a prominent image in Islamic art and culture.)
Pro-Palestinian journalist Sulaiman Ahmed posted the image and stated, “BEN & JERRYS IS AGAINST OPPRESSION.” The post garnered 1 million views and 77,000 likes in two days.
Pro-Israel X user @VividProwess shared the image and stated: “Is this real? Wow. Shame on Ben & Jerry’s.” The post received 484,000 views and 10,000 likes in one day.
The phrase “From the river to the sea” is a pro-Palestinian slogan that supporters say calls for Palestinian rights in the region while Israel supporters say it as a vow to destroy the Jewish state.
Actually: The image is AI-generated, according to the creator of the photo.
The image was produced using AI-program ChatGPT, pro-Palestinian Instagram user @iampocoloco, who first posted it, acknowledged. On May 15, the day after Cohen’s arrest, the Instagram account shared the image and stated: “DONT BUY BEN N JERRYS. ZIO[NIST] OWNED STILLLL. I JUST HAD CHATGPT MAKE THIS BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT’D LOOK SWEET.”
NewsGuard reviewed Ben & Jerry’s menu of flavors and social media accounts and did not find any flavor referring to Palestine or Israel.
Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Become a Reality Check Member and Get These Exclusive Benefits
Want to get smarter about misinformation? Become a Reality Check Member today and you'll get:
A free copy of the definitive book on the misinformation crisis, The Death of Truth by bestselling author Steven Brill ($30 value)
Exclusive members-only content and digital briefings
Free access to NewsGuard's browser extension that shows reliability ratings for 10K+ news sites right in your browser ($25 value)
2. Macron-Shoving Clip Misrepresented to Show Bloodied Flight Attendant
By Isis Blachez
What happened: Social media users are misrepresenting a viral clip of French President Emmanuel Macron being slapped and pushed by his wife into the doorway of the presidential plane — falsely claiming it shows a flight attendant with a bloodied shoulder and suggesting that the incident involved more than the Macron couple.
You can watch the video here:
Context: On May 25, shortly after the French presidential plane landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, Brigitte Macron was filmed pushing President Macron’s face as the aircraft door swung open — a moment captured in verified footage from The Associated Press (NewsGuard Trust Score: 100/100).
The incident was widely interpreted as evidence of marital discord, although Macron told reporters in Hanoi on May 26, “We were joking around with my wife, as we often do,” according to news reports.
A closer look: Some social media users claimed the video also shows a flight attendant with ripped clothing and what looks like blood on her left shoulder.
The claim appears to have originated on the pro-QAnon X account @CaptKylePatriot, which posted the video and stated, “Check out the stewardess’s ripped bloody shoulder.” The post garnered 10.3 million views and 16,000 likes in two days.
Conservative anti-Macron X user @TheRubberDuck79 published screenshots of the woman’s shoulder and of Brigitte Macron’s hand on Emmanuel Macron and stated: “Did Bridgette [sic] Macron try to eat the stewardess? Why her dress ripped and shoulder bloody?” The post received 76,000 views and 920 likes in two days.
Actually: A frame-by-frame analysis by NewsGuard found that the video shows a woman from the ground crew — not the flight crew — wearing an orange scarf draped over her left shoulder. Her clothing is intact, and there is no visible injury.
The orange hue of the scarf, combined with its textured pattern, may give the false impression of torn fabric and blood.
The woman does not appear to have been present on the flight, as she was standing on the exit staircase alongside the plane before its doors opened, the full Associated Press footage shows.
Click here to find out more about NewsGuard Trust Scores and our process for rating websites. You can download NewsGuard’s browser extension, which displays NewsGuard Trust Score icons next to links on search engines, social media feeds, and other platforms by clicking here.
3. False Claim of the Week: Harvard Announced Plans to ‘Blacklist’ Trump Supporters on Campus
NewsGuard’s “False Claim of the Week” highlights a false claim from NewsGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprints proprietary database of provably false claims and their debunks. The claim that Harvard announced plans to “blacklist” Trump supporters — which we reported on in the Wednesday edition of Reality Check — was deemed the “False Claim of the Week” due to its widespread appearance across social media platforms and websites, its high engagement levels, and the high-profile nature of the sources promoting it. Given those three factors in addition to its significant subject matter — its potential for harm makes it our False Claim of the Week.
Debunk: The post cited as evidence for the claim that Harvard plans to blacklist Trump supporters is from a post on Sidechat, an anonymous social media app used by students with school-specific forums that are only accessible to users with verified school email addresses. The post stated: “Until Trump backs down (if he does), I think we blacklist Trump supporters on campus. Don’t let them into clubs, don’t be friends with them, certainly don’t date them. Bring back real social consequences for politically affiliating with a fascist.”
Conservative X user @MilaLovesJoe shared a screenshot of the Sidechat post and added: “BREAKING NEWS: Harvard plans on blacklisting Trump supporters. FAFO [F--- Around, Find Out], Harvard.” The post garnered 415,900 views and 8,300 likes before it was deleted.
Contrary to this and other claims on social media platforms, the post was not from an official communication channel used by university administrators as reported in Wednesday’s Reality Check. There is no credible reporting that Harvard is contemplating or has announced such a plan.
The school did not respond to a NewsGuard email inquiring about the Sidechat post and the claim that the school plans to “blacklist” Trump supporters.
If you see something, say something
If you see or hear something that you think may be provably false, please alert NewsGuard via realitycheck@newsguardtech.com and we'll do our best to get to the bottom of it. Note: Tips should not include content that you simply disagree with, however strongly.
4. Joe Rogan Falsely Claims COVID-19 Vaccines Caused Hundreds of Thousands of U.S. Deaths
By John Gregory
What happened: Joe Rogan resurfaced a debunked claim about COVID-19 vaccine deaths in his May 21 podcast episode, racking up millions of views and reigniting the claim across social media accounts and websites.