No, viral image of Stephen King wearing makeup and a Palestine shirt isn’t real

Bestselling author Stephen King, known as the “King of Horror” for writing books such as “Carrie,” “It,” and “The Shining,” is regularly outspoken about his progressive opinions on political and social issues on his official X account.

A VERIFY reader texted us a photo of the author wearing a shirt in support of Palestine and asked if it is real. The photo, which also appears to show him wearing blush and red lipstick, is currently being widely shared on social media. 

THE QUESTION

Is the photo of Stephen King wearing makeup and a Palestine shirt real?

THE SOURCES

• RevEye, a reverse image search engine

• Original photo posted by Stephen King

THE ANSWER

No, the photo of Stephen King wearing makeup and a Palestine shirt is not real.

WHAT WE FOUND

The viral image of Stephen King wearing makeup and a Palestine shirt is fake. It was manipulated using photo editing software.

A reverse image search conducted using RevEye led us to the original photo, where King’s shirt instead says “I stand with Ukraine.” 

That photo was posted to King’s official Twitter account in February 2022 with the caption, “I don't usually post pictures of myself, but today is an exception.” In the photo, King is wearing a shirt that reads, “I stand with Ukraine.” He is not wearing any visible makeup. 

The image being spread on social media of King appearing to wear makeup and a Palestine shirt directly matches up with the original photo. The two images share the same background with a large bookshelf, and the rest of King’s outfit and facial expression is the same.

A closer look at the fake image shows that the Palestine shirt design is not realistically fitted on the shirt King is wearing. On the left side, part of the green line from the design overlaps with his hand. The design also appears completely flat on a shirt that is not straight. In addition, Stephen King typically does not wear visible makeup. 

Although the photo is fake, King has made public statements about the Israel-Hamas war. In November 2023, King made a comment regarding the Israel-Hamas war on Twitter in response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted that America had not contributed financially to the war. King wrote “Are you tripping? We've given them aid and armaments for decades.”