You can’t believe everything you read on the internet…
Remember your parents telling you that as a kid? Now, more than ever, those guidelines are necessary for surfing the web. It’s very important to take everything with a grain of salt, especially in the modern age where artificial intelligence can easily generate fake videos and photos.
Though on occasion, a good old fashioned rumor with a picture attached can still do the trick. For some reason, people are more likely to believe a story when there’s a corresponding image that goes along with it. That’s exactly what happened with this fabricated internet story involving George Strait and Bruce Springsteen that’s gotten a lot of attention online.
The rumor suggests that George Strait was supposed to play at the Grand Ole Opry with Bruce Springsteen, and that “King George” canceled the collaborative event after “The Boss” went on an anti-Trump rant during one of his recent shows across the pond. There was even a quote that was falsely attributed to the country music legend:
“I don’t care who you are. You don’t mix music and politics.”
That post has garnered almost 1 million views and was liked over 50,000 times… and it’s as fake and made-up as it gets. For starters, it has an ALLOD Satire watermark stamped right on the picture, but you know, people don’t pay attention to anything online.
There’s no truth to George Strait canceling a show with Bruce Springsteen, and there was never even a show with the two scheduled at the Grand Ole Opry. Though you don’t have to be a member to play at the Opry (they have outside shows and artists sometimes use the venue), it’s important to note that Strait isn’t even a member of the Grand Ole Opry. In fact, he’s only played it ONE time in the history of his legendary career. The King stepped into the Opry Circle on October 9, 1982 – right after his third album, Right or Wrong, was released, and just a few months after his first #1 single, “Marina Del Ray,” and that was it.
The only thing that’s real about that post is Springsteen’s “incident in Europe.” Last week, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their The Land of Hope & Dreams Tour in Manchester, England. In front of a full crowd of Brits, the rock star went on a rant against the current state of the America
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration…
The majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply America. The America that I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and regardless of its faults, it’s a great country with great people. So we’ll survive this moment.”
So that aspect of the fabricated, viral post was true.
I also find the quote that George Strait did not say about not mixing music and politics rather comical. Springsteen has weaved politics into his music throughout his career, and while “Born in the U.S.A.” is often used a patriotic anthem, it actually tells the story of a Vietnam veteran who comes back home to America and doesn’t get the help they deserve. I don’t think it would’ve snuck up on ol’ George after all these years. George also stood up for police officers with his 2019 single “The Weight Of The Badge.” Not political per se, but it certainly was a controversial stance the following year when the “defund the police” movement took off. And the anti-police sentiment is still strong among some more “progressive” groups… well, until something bad happens.
But here’s the kicker… George actually introduced Bruce Springsteen at Austin’s Moody Center in 2023. That’s where the picture used in the satirical post comes from. All that to say that this George Strait cancellation post is not real. And it didn’t just go viral on X… it was also shared on Facebook and Instagram with many social media users taking it as the truth.
Just goes to show that you should always check sources before treating a social media post as trustworthy… especially if it says “Satire” right on the post…
