Photo shows Heineken banners at dog fighting event. Fact Check

A photo online shows a dog fighting match in a venue adorned with Heineken banners and merchandise, along with the assertion that Heineken supports dog fighting.

FALSE

An example of the photo with its caption can be seen below.

Please ‘SHARE’ THE HELL out of this image. Big mistake Heineken, BIG mistake.

While the image itself is genuine, the subsequent conclusion that the Heineken brand support or promote dog fighting is not.

The photo has been circulating the Internet since at least 2012 when we first came across it. The image itself was reportedly taken in 2010 during a dog fighting event in Mongolia, which is (or was legal) in the country. That event occurred the evening after another event which Heineken had sponsored, but the banners featuring the Dutch brewer’s logo had not been removed, giving the false impression that the brand had sponsored the dog fight.

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Heineken themselves discovered the image in 2012 and took action, closing all ties with the venue where the dog fight took place. The owner of the venue in Mongolia subsequently confirmed that Heineken were not involved in the dog fighting event.

Heineken now has a webpage on their site that explains specifically what took place and what action they did when they discovered the image in 2012. That page includes the below graphic.

Despite all of this occurring between 2010 and 2012, the photo along with the assertion that Heineken supports dog fighting still circulates the Internet. It’s not true.