A viral internet meme shared by a nonprofit organization claiming megachurches in the United States are not offering support to Ukrainians has been proven false by two different fact-checkers.
FactCheck.org and PolitiFact have both given proof of several megachurches that have donated to help Ukrainians.
The meme, posted on The Other 98%’s Facebook page and shared on Twitter, showed a picture of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, which is led by Joel Osteen, and included the text reading, “We haven’t seen a single American megachurch offer ANYTHING to the Ukrainians…”
The Other 98% has since issued a correction to its post.
Lakewood Church, which has a weekly attendance of 45,000 people, posted a video on its Facebook page on March 7 featuring Dr. Paul Osteen, the church leader’s brother, and Dr. Todd Price, an infectious disease specialist. The two explained how Lakewood Church gave donations to build a church in Ukraine in 1996 that is now working to feed people in Ukraine affected by the war.
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“We’re also feeding people in other places through our partners,” Price said. “And we hope to do even more as the situation evolves.”
Other megachurches listed by the two fact-checkers that have given support to Ukrainians included Saddleback Church in California, Gateway Church in Texas, and Crossroads in Ohio. Saddleback Church and Gateway Church have both set up relief funds for people in Ukraine, while Crossroads partners with two humanitarian and disaster relief organizations that both have operations in Ukraine.
The Other 98% claims on its website to use memes and boots-on-the-ground actions “to challenge the corporations and billionaires that have hijacked our democracy.” On the website’s homepage, visitors can sign multiple petitions, including telling Congress to pass “Medicare for All” and expand the Supreme Court and telling President Joe Biden to cancel student debt.
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The Other 98% did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
