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Mehdi on Macklemore and Free Speech Under Trump

9 claims checked · Published September 2026 · Checked September 2026

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  1. Claim 1
    Accurate99% confidence▶ 0:02
    “Macklemore, the rapper, being dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour for speaking out about the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.”

    Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour because of comments supporting Palestinians in Gaza.

    The Associated Press reported that Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran's tour over pro-Palestinian comments made onstage. The tour promoter also said venues would not allow concerts with Macklemore on the lineup.

    Sources

  2. Claim 2
    Unverifiable90% confidence▶ 0:11
    “The New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, basically organized a boycott among stadium owners over this.”

    Robert Kraft organized a boycott among stadium owners over Macklemore's comments.

    Several venues reportedly said they would not host a concert with Macklemore, but the available reporting attributes the claim that Kraft rallied the owners to Macklemore and says Kraft neither confirmed nor denied that specific account. The evidence does not establish that Kraft organized the broader boycott.

    Sources

  3. Claim 3
    Accurate99% confidence▶ 0:43
    “Journalists are getting arrested.”

    Journalists are being arrested in the United States under the Trump administration.

    The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented 32 instances in 2025 in which journalists were detained or charged for doing their jobs, and the Reporters Committee documented federal arrests of three journalists in 2026.

    Sources

  4. Claim 4
    Unverifiable94% confidence▶ 0:53
    “They're always the first people to get fired from Hollywood, to be silenced on stage.”

    Palestinians or their supporters have always been the first people fired from Hollywood or silenced onstage.

    The claim uses undefined universal language: it does not specify which Hollywood workers, which period, or what “first” means. Without an operational definition, the assertion cannot be reliably confirmed or refuted.

    The intensifiers “always” and “first people” were judged as stated; “first people” has no agreed operational definition and the claim provides no defined population or time period.

    Sources: none found for this claim.

  5. Claim 5
    Accurate50% confidence▶ 1:05
    “whose name appears in the Epstein files”

    Robert Kraft's name appears in the Epstein files.

    Reporting on documents released by the Justice Department states that Kraft's name appeared in the released Epstein-related files. The reporting also says the documents contained no direct communication between Kraft and Epstein, so the appearance of his name does not by itself establish wrongdoing.

    Sources

  6. Claim 6
    Accurate99% confidence▶ 1:16
    “He said free Palestine. He said he loves his Jewish brothers and sisters. He's against a genocide.”

    Macklemore said “Free Palestine,” expressed love for Jewish people, and said he opposed genocide.

    The Associated Press quoted Macklemore saying “Free Palestine,” addressing his Jewish brothers and sisters, and saying that opposition to genocide was not criticism of Jewish people.

    Sources

  7. Claim 7
    Misleading50% confidence▶ 1:27

    Robert Kraft decides who gets to speak at a concert.

    Kraft did block Macklemore from performing at his stadium, but the broader statement implies that Kraft alone determined Macklemore's ability to speak or perform across the tour. The promoter was identified as ultimately responsible for the removal, and multiple venues were involved.

    Omits: Kraft controlled whether Macklemore could perform at Gillette Stadium, but reporting says the tour promoter ultimately made the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour and other venues were independently involved.

    Sources

  8. Claim 8
    False99% confidence▶ 1:29
    “AIPAC, which spent $30 million in Michigan trying to defeat Abdullah Hammoud”

    AIPAC spent $30 million in Michigan trying to defeat Abdullah Hammoud.

    The reported nearly $30 million AIPAC-backed spending concerned the Michigan Senate primary and sought to defeat Abdul El-Sayed. The transcript names Abdullah Hammoud instead, making the claim false as stated.

    Sources

  9. Claim 9
    Misleading50% confidence▶ 1:34
    “I think has given over 100 grand to Nancy Mace.”

    AIPAC has given more than $100,000 to Nancy Mace.

    A third-party tracker reports that Nancy Mace received $107,936 from pro-Israel lobbying sources, but that is broader than direct AIPAC giving. An FEC-based itemizer lists a $5,000 AIPAC PAC contribution in the cited transaction, so attributing the entire six-figure total directly to AIPAC creates a misleading impression.

    Omits: The roughly $108,000 figure is an aggregate estimate for money from pro-Israel lobbying sources, not a documented amount given directly by AIPAC itself; FEC-based reporting shows a much smaller direct AIPAC PAC contribution in the cited filing.

    Checked twice, independently: the first pass returned Misleading and the second False. Recorded as Misleading.

    Sources