By: Nikolaj Kristensen
March 6 2024
Nike has not launched an Israel-themed sneaker amid the current conflict
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(Source: X/TikTok/Screenshots)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The Nike shoes in the video were customized by a company with no affiliation to Nike.
Claim ID 7c729ed6
Context
Pro-Palestine accounts on social media are calling for a boycott of the sports gear and clothing brand Nike due to a video that shows the unpacking of a pair of Israel-themed Nike shoes. The shoes are white with two blue stripes and a blue Star of David on the side.
"Nike wants to go broke! Keep BOYCOTTING child killers! 🩸 #BoycottNike," wrote one user on X, who shared the video in a post that has been viewed 1.8 million times.
However, Nike did not make a line of Israel-themed sneakers amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. A company with no affiliation with the sports brand customized a pair of Nike trainers.
In fact
At the beginning of the video, right when the lid of the box is opened, a sticker can be seen on the packing paper inside, showing a logo featuring a sneaker and the words "PNT BY RAY."
A Google search led us to the Facebook and Instagram accounts of PNT BY RAY, a sneaker customization company.
An image on the Instagram account, posted on March 3, 2024, shows a pair of Nike sneakers resembling the one in the video. "Custom 🇮🇱 kicks for @mrmichaeldickson for the StandWithUs conference in LA 🔥," said the text accompanying the image, tagging the Instagram account of Michael Dickson, executive director of the Israel branch of U.S. non-profit StandWithUs. The original unboxing video was uploaded to Dickson's Instagram account on March 3, 2024. Dickson shared it with the text, "You know you want these too: @pntbyray."
The post on the PNT BY RAY Instagram account contained the following disclaimer: "I am not affiliated with any brands represented in this picture, nor is my artwork authorized by these brands to be sold on their products. I do not sell sneakers nor purport to do so. The image shown is my personal artwork that I hand paint on any/all products and brands requested by clients."
A similar disclaimer is found in the account's bio, which reads, "I have no affiliation with the brands of objects I paint on."
(Source: X/Google/Instagram/PNT BY RAY/Screenshots)
Logically Facts contacted the person behind PNT BY RAY and shared the viral video with them, asking if they had customized the Nike shoes shown in it.
"I am not affiliated with Nike, I just paint whatever my customers want on any products they want. I also put a disclaimer in my posts making it clear that these are not Nike-authorized pieces, but just my own art on sneakers. The pair in the video I made for Michael Dickson because I am a fan of his and appreciate his advocacy for Israel," they said.
Another image on the Instagram page shows a similar pair was made for New York-based influencer Lizzy Savetsky. Savetsky recently shared an image of herself wearing the shoes on her social media.
The verdict
The Nike shoes seen in the video were customized by a company with no affiliation to Nike. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.
