Did FAA Report Tell Pilots to ‘Reject Fascism'? What We Know
A photo circulating on social media shows a standard weather report sent to pilots that includes the words “REJECT FASCISM,” but U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) isn’t responsible for the message.
Newsweek reached out to the FAA via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The message was allegedly added to a Meteorological Aerodrome Report. METAR reports are written for pilots and educate them about current weather data, including wind speed and direction, visibility, cloud cover, and precipitation, according to the Pilot Institute.
What To Know
The report that was sent out follows a standard format; however, the screenshots from Monday showed that a message to “REJECT FASCISM” had been added to the end of the METAR data. The images spread on social media, and user LibsofTikTok asked Duffy to explain the photo in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Duffy, who oversees the FAA, which issues the reports, said the message was edited after it left the federal government’s system.
“We looked into this and the version you saw was edited after it left our system and went to a third-party app,” Duffy posted in response, along with a screenshot that showed the original METAR report without the “REJECT FASCISM” message.
“Someone with access to that app then modified it. See below for what we actually sent out. The comments were not displayed on any official FAA METAR reports. We'll continue to investigate this to determine who needs to be held accountable for politicizing aviation safety.”
It’s unclear whether the photo with the “REJECT FASCISM” message was edited before being shared on social media, or if the original message from the FAA was altered before being sent through official channels.
“If, and this is a big if, the person with the 3rd party app changed the original and passed it along official channels, this indicates the system can be hacked and false data inserted,” one user responded to Duffy’s message. “However, if this was modified on a 3rd party app and then posted on social media for clicks, shame on us for not checking it out before reposting it. In either case, Thank you Secretary Duffy for following up on it!”
What People Are Saying
Certified flight instructor Phil Holloway posted a screenshot of the METAR report on X shortly after noon on Monday: “Hey @SecDuffy what's with the political messages being pushed out via METARs today? These are aviation weather reports used by pilots to see what the weather is at airports everywhere Some wise ass is using the @FAANews to push their "reject fascism" propaganda.”
X user @FinalTelegraph in response to Duffy’s post: “This is the deep state in action. Some leftist activist in a ‘third-party app’ thought they could sabotage an official FAA report. They got caught. Thank you, Secretary Duffy, for exposing their dirty tricks. They will politicize anything, even safety. Find the saboteur and make an example of them.”
X user @TrixStar76 in response to Duffy’s post: “Who in gods name is stupid enough to believe this is real.”
What Happens Next
Duffy said the Department of Transportation would continue to investigate the photo to determine who was responsible for changing the original message from the FAA.
Update 11/3/25, 1:33 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 9:45 AM.