On July 8, 2024, a Facebook page called America - Love It Or Leave It published a meme claiming ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick was unemployed, broke and freeloading off his former teammates.
America - Love It Or Leave It (ALIOLI) alleged that one of his former colleagues said: "I just want him off my sofa."
ALIOLI's caption read:
After the NFL removed him from active status last year, his sources of income, which came mostly from short camps with farm teams, came to an end.
"He's got nothing left. He should have just stood for the anthem."
Looks like activism doesn't pay the bills after all.
Similar claims appeared elsewhere on Facebook in July 2024.
Facebook users replying to the ALIOLI post appeared to believe the claim was true, with one writing: "I don't have much empathy for him. He was his own worst enemy."
Another commented: "He deserves everything coming his way. Never thankful or grateful enough."
(Facebook account America - Love It Or Leave It)
However, this item was not a factual recounting of real-life events.
ALIOLI, the Facebook account that posted the claim, described its output as being "satirical" in nature, as follows:
A subsidiary of the America's Last Line of Defense network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real.
It also labeled its Facebook page as "Satire/parody," and said the account was run by an individual branded "Busta Troll." The meme also included a "Rated Satire" label.
America's Last Line of Defense, which was mentioned by the account, likewise described its content as satirical.
Different versions of the satirical claim appeared elsewhere on Facebook in April, May and June 2024.
Snopes found no evidence Kaepernick was broke or unemployed in June 2024, and likewise no media outlets reported such news. There was also no proof any of his former teammates said they wanted him off their sofa.
On April 22, 2024, Kaepernick shared a post on Instagram that said he does community work for the "Know Your Rights Camp" he founded. He also linked to his Kaepernick Publishing company on his X account in April 2024.
Snopes addressed another satirical post by ALIOLI on June 27, 2024, in which the page jokingly claimed U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received $142,000 in student loan forgiveness.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.