Fact Check: Are $1.2K Tickets for Trump's Second Inauguration Being Sold on QAnon Sites?

Despite former President Donald Trump losing the last election more than seven months ago and still no evidence of his continued claims of widespread voter fraud, supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory still believe he will somehow return as president.

The latest claim, being pushed by conspiracy theorists such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, is that Trump will be reinstated into the White House in August as a result of findings from the ongoing audit in Arizona.

This is despite the partisan ballot recount, which is being funded by QAnon supporters and those who spread falsehoods about the 2020 election, turning up no meaningful evidence of voter fraud after several weeks.

The Board of Supervisors in Maricopa County said the audit in Arizona turning the state into a "laughingstock."

The Claim

Over the past few days images have been shared on social media that appear to suggest tickets are being sold online for Trump's second inauguration, claiming it will take place in front of the Capitol steps in Washington, D.C., on August 15.

The tickets also claim there will be special musical guests appearances from Ted Nugent and Kid Rock.

On June 14, Twitter account @PamelaApostolo1 shared an image of the apparent tickets, claiming she first saw them via a Facebook post.

"OMG-just saw this on FB!!!," the tweet said before appearing to quote what was posted on Facebook.

"This is just INSANE on a whole other level! These 'tickets' are being sold for as high as $1,200 each on Q sites all over the internet, the crazy part is that people are talking about how excited they are because they've already purchased them."

The post has since been retweeted more than 3,500 times.

A number of blogs, including Crooks and Liars and Political Flare, have also written about the tickets as being a genuine scam of QAnon supporters.

The Facts

A quick glance at the image seen will show that the tickets are clearly edited and the words added in.

As noted by Marc-André Argentino, a Ph.D. candidate in the Individualized Program (INDI) at Concordia University who studies QAnon, a stock image watermark is still visible on the photo. Tickets for such an event are more than likely to be electric, or require no tickets at all, as it is meant to be occurring on the Capitol steps.

Other Twitter users also found the stock image online.

The edited ticket also first appeared as a hoax on controversial message-board site 4chan in mid-June.

As far as the claim that QAnon supporters are being duped into spending $1,200 for the fake tickets, Newsweek could not find any evidence that they are being sold on any "QAnon sites."

A search on encrypted messaging service Telegram, where QAnon influencers and their supporters communicate having been banned from all major social media networks, there is no suggestion that the tickets have been sold or purchased by anyone.

The Ruling

False.

There is no evidence that these tickets are actually being sold as genuine to QAnon supporters, with the edited image first appearing online as a joke.

The image has since been reshared as a way to mock the conspiracy theorists and their belief Trump will be reinstated as president.