The NFL Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the world ā€” and the halftime show famed asĀ the US’s most-watched TV moment. This year, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio MartĆnez Ocasio) gave a historic performance, becoming the first artist to sing an entire halftime showĀ in Spanish. His set called forĀ unity across the Americas, underscored by a large billboard above the stageĀ reading: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Following the performance, US president Donald TrumpĀ slammedĀ Bad Bunny’sĀ show on his platform Truth Social.
Bad Bunny has often been outspoken about USĀ politics, famouslyĀ during his Grammy acceptance speech for Best Musica Urbana Album, where he called for “ICE out,”Ā referencing US Immigration and Customs EnforcementĀ operations, which haveĀ killed two citizens in the city of Minneapolis.Ā
A polarizing figure and the world’s most streamed musician, Bad Bunny is frequently the target of online misinformation. DW fact checkĀ examined three claims about him that went viral after the Super Bowl.
Did Bad Bunny refuse to stand for the US national anthem?
Claim:Ā “Wow.. Bad Bunny refused to stand for our national anthem”, a user claims on X, sharing a video showing Bad Bunny sitting in a stadium while people around him allegedly sing the national anthem of the United States. The viral post, published on February 9, had more than one million views.
DW Fact check: False
It’s not true that Bad Bunny remained seatedĀ during the national anthem. The video is not related to the Super Bowl on February 8, norĀ are the people standing around the superstar singing the national anthem.Ā
A reverse image search reveals thatĀ the footage first circulated a few months agoĀ after Bad Bunny attended a New York Yankees game on October 7. AĀ second angleĀ of the same moment confirms that Bad Bunny sat while many other people in the stadium were chanting,Ā but they were not singing the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”Ā but “God Bless America.”Ā You can clearly hear theĀ lyrics“…to the prairies. To the oceans white with foam. God bless America […]” in the original clip.
Media outlets such as TMZ reported on the October incident at the time.
According toĀ United States Code, only theĀ “Star-Spangled Banner”Ā is designated theĀ national anthem of the USA.Ā “God Bless America” is not even mentioned.
The code says that “during rendition of the national anthemĀ when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart”Ā and “when the flag is not displayed, those present face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.”
There is no mentionĀ onĀ whetherĀ spectators shouldĀ stand during “God bless America.”
Additionally, the code describes “patriotic customs,” as suggested in the title itself. There is noĀ punishment if people do not adhere to it. Experts cited byĀ past media reports on this topicargue that the key word in the United States code about behavior during the national anthemĀ is “should”Ā ā€• nowhere does it say “must.”
Did Bad Bunny burn the US flag before the Super Bowl?
Claim: A viral image on X of Bad Bunny with more than 960,000 views shows the singer inĀ a dress featuring the colors of the transgender pride flag andĀ burning a USĀ flag with a lighter. The image also spread on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram .Ā
DW Fact check: Fake
While Bad Bunny is known for supporting the LGBTQ+ community and for gender-fluid fashion statements , the viral image is not real.
Several indicators prove the image is AI-generated: The Facebook account which likely posted the image originally says in its bio, “Ai funny Content & Master Meme Maker.”Ā Other AI-generated images of Bad Bunny appear in the same feed. The tattoos in the image do not matchĀ Bad Bunny’s real body art.Ā
When uploaded to Googleā€™s Gemini, the system identifies a SynthID watermark, confirming it was created with Google AI tools.
Who was the boy who received Bad Bunny’s Grammy trophy?
Claim: “Many of you may have missed this, but the little boy who Bad Bunny handed his Grammy to at the Super Bowl was Liam Ramos! Amazing!”, says an X post with more than 10.3Ā million views.
Along with the post, two images supposedly prove that the child Bad Bunny symbolically handed his Grammy Award is Liam Conejo Ramos, the boy who was arrested by federal immigrations agents on January 20 in Minneapolis.
DW Fact check: False
The boy featured in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show is a 5-year-old child actor, Lincoln Fox, not Liam Conejo Ramos.Ā
After the show, social media users mistakenly identified the boy as Liam Conejo Ramos, whose arrest with his father, during an ICE operation in Minnesota, sparked nationwide attention. The similarity in age contributed to the confusion, but the claim is unfounded.Ā
This claim spread rapidly due to the emotional nature of the ICE case but Lincoln Fox confirmed on his own Instagram account that heĀ performedĀ at the Super Bowl.
Fox is also listed as a child model at LA model management. AĀ publicist for Bad Bunny also confirmed to NPR Musicthat the boy was not Liam Conejo Ramos, whileĀ reporting from other media outlets also identified the child as Lincoln Fox.Ā
Edited by: Uta Steinwehr, Rachel Baig