Social media users are mistakenly taking seriously a satirical article claiming U.S. pop star Beyonce was “booed” while singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at an NFL game and has since been banned by the football organization.

A Facebook post, opens new tab reads, “Beyonce Sings ‘Black National Anthem’ At The NFL, Gets Booed Off Immediately See it below!”

In the comments of the post, the user links to an article, opens new tab on a website called DailyNewsInTime, which does not disclose that the article is satire.

Reuters Image

An article with almost the same headline (“Breaking: Beyonce Sings ‘Alternative National Anthem’ At The NFL, Gets Booed Off Immediately”) appears on the website, opens new tab SpaceXmania, where it is labeled satire.

Similar, opens new tab stories, opens new tab had circulated on satirical websites in September 2023.

The song “Lift Every Voice and Sing, opens new tab”, often referred as “The Black National Anthem, was written in 1900 by The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) leader James Weldon Johnson and the music was composed by his brother John Rosamond Johnson.

It was used as a “rallying cry” during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

Beyonce sang the song, opens new tab at the Coachella music festival in 2018, opens new tab, but not at an NFL game.

Reuters did not report any incident involving Beyonce at an NFL game this season and there are no credible news reports, opens new tab of any such incident.

The NFL did not release, opens new tab any reports on Beyonce being banned from games.

Representatives for Beyonce did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

VERDICT

Satire. Claims that Beyonce was “booed” while singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and banned from NFL games were not true and stemmed from satirical articles.