Claim:
Kid Rock's tribute concert in honor of late country singer Toby Keith broke an attendance record previously held by Taylor Swift.
Rating:
Originated as Satire ( About this rating? )
According to an online rumor, a tribute concert organized by musician Kid Rock in honor of the late country singer Toby Keith broke an attendance record set by pop star Taylor Swift.
Variations of the claim spread on social media platforms such as Facebook ( archived ), Threads and X , often in meme form.
(X user @usanews0)
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events.
Responding to a post featuring a meme reading "Kid Rock's Tribute to Toby Keith Sets New Record Drawing More Fans Than Taylor Swift's Biggest Show," one X user wrote: "Toby was a great artist and fine human being. So glad to see his fans turn out for this tribute. You go Kid Rock!"
Another X user replied : "Sounds right to me."
However, there was no evidence such a tribute concert ever took place, let alone broke an attendance record. A Google search for the terms "Kid Rock," "Toby Keith" and "tribute concert" found no credible coverage of any concert organized by Kid Rock in Keith's honor.
Rather, the rumor appeared to originate from the Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub, which described its output as satirical in nature.
(Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub)
The account posted a meme ( archived ) in which the claim was made on Feb. 10, 2024, five days after Keith died from stomach cancer at the age of 62. It had amassed more than 150,000 reactions as of this writing.
SpaceX Fanclub's intro section stated:
We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real.
More than a week later, the Facebook page posted a similar meme making the same claim ( archived ), which garnered more than 39,000 reactions and 2,900 comments.
Neither Facebook posts mentioned where or when this alleged concert took place, nor did they say how many attendees were supposed to have been there. As noted above, there was no credible evidence such a concert had ever taken place.
SpaceX Fanclub has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, sometimes relying on artificial-intelligence writing software to do their storytelling.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims by the Facebook page in the past, such as WNBA star Caitlin Clark signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Samsung and television host Jay Leno signing a similar multimillion-dollar deal with CBS for a "non-woke" late-night show.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
Sources:
Dobrin, Nikki. "Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood Joined Forces for 'Non-Woke' Movie Production Studio?" Snopes, 14 June 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/denzel-washington-clint-eastwood/ .
Lee, Jessica. "Why Snopes Covers Satire and Parody." Snopes, 26 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//notes/snopes-satire-parody/ .
Mascarenhas, Sara Smart, Lauren. "Country Singer Toby Keith Dies at 62 after Battle with Stomach Cancer." CNN, 6 Feb. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/entertainment/toby-keith-death/index.html .
Rascouët-Paz, Anna. "Elon Musk Going to Buy ABC to Cancel 'The View'?" Snopes, 9 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/abc-elon-musk-the-view/ .
Local News
