IS THE FORD 'VERY GAY RAPTOR' TRUCK REAL?

Claim: Ford created a truck called the "Very Gay Raptor."

Rating: True

Context: The "Very Gay Raptor" is a real truck created by Ford in 2021. The company reportedly created the car in response to a social media post that referred to the "Performance Blue" color option on Ranger Raptors as "very gay." We found no evidence that the truck has ever been available for purchase by consumers.

In May 2023, claims began to spread online that Ford had debuted a new truck called the "Very Gay Raptor," a vehicle painted in gold dust and rainbow graphics. Ranger Raptors are a brand of trucks sold by the company.

We found several different viral posts about the claim on social media platforms, particularly on Twitter and TikTok.

"Ford: How to destroy 120 years of American car history in one minute," a Twitter user posted on May 18, 2023. "I'm so sick of woke companies." Attached to the tweet was a commercial claiming to show the "Very Gay Raptor" advertised by Ford. At the time of publication, the post had over 14 million views.

Another prominent claim about the truck was posted to TikTok on May 19, 2023. "Breaking news, as Ford has revealed their new 2023 Raptor, which comes in a rainbow-colored theme," the TikTok post claimed. At the time of publication, the post had 2.7 million views on the platform.

 

We also found posts about the claim on Facebook and YouTube.

The "Very Gay Raptor" is real, but it's not new. We found the truck was originally created by Ford in 2021. There is no evidence the truck had ever been available to purchase.

When we contacted Ford, Ford spokesman T.R. Reid said:

 The video that circulated on social media a couple of weeks ago was never part of a Ford "ad campaign" anywhere. It began as an attempt by our team in Europe to turn a negative into a positive with in-kind response to a social comment in 2021 asserting that a color of the then-new Ranger Raptor truck was 'very gay' – something which offended colleagues and customers. Doing so was consistent with Ford's values to include, support and protect people of all genders, races and sexual orientations. No such vehicle has been sold by Ford in Europe or elsewhere.

In September 2021, ABC 10 News reported that Ford of Germany had created the car in response to a social media post that referred to the "Performance Blue" color option on Ranger Raptors as "very gay." The 2021 article also said the truck had made its debut at Cologne Pride that year, and that it was not for sale.

On June 21, 2022, nearly a year later, Ford News Europe posted a video to its YouTube page titled, "Ford's Very Gay Raptor Redefines 'Tough' for a New Generation." The description of the video said:

Ford called out a homophobic response to a Ranger Raptor video last year by creating the real-life "Very Gay Raptor." Ever since, Ford has been proudly using its toughest nameplate to redefine what "tough" actually means. Now, the Next-Gen Ranger Raptor is picking up the torch in Ford's mission to work side-by-side with the automotive industry and LGBTQ+ community to drive out discrimination. 

In a 2022 press release about the truck, Ford said the video was meant to tease the appearance of the "Very Gay Raptor" as well as the Next-Gen Ranger Raptor at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, an annual U.K. motorsports event.

2023-06-01T20:08:50Z dg43tfdfdgfd