{"id":5825,"date":"2026-07-14T10:56:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5825"},"modified":"2026-07-14T10:56:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:56:43","slug":"german-world-cup-fan-freddy-returns-to-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5825","title":{"rendered":"German World Cup Fan &#8216;Freddy&#8217; Returns to Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-body\">\n<div id=\"attachment_5742111\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5742111\" class=\"wp-image-5742111 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/am14.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-1200x675.jpeg\" alt=\"German tourist Freddy and friends at World Cup\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-1200x675.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-288x162.jpeg 288w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4-432x243.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5742111\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot via @FreddyLA7 on X.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Freddy<\/strong>,\u201d the German tourist who went viral for his awestruck posts extolling the delights of American cultural institutions like Waffle House and Buc-ee\u2019s as he travelled the country for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/tag\/world-cup\/\">World Cup<\/a>, has returned to social media after a brief hiatus, just in time for the semi-final matches.<\/p>\n<p>Along with Scotland\u2019s Tartan Army, the Norwegians with their Viking rowing chant, and Europeans absolutely losing their minds with a newfound addiction to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/world-cup-fans-shopping-clearing-out-american-big-box-stores-2026-7\">ranch dressing<\/a>, Freddy is one of many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/celebrities\/2026\/07\/02\/best-world-cup-fan-reactions-everyday-american-life\/90788315007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World Cup foreign tourists<\/a> who captured American hearts with his posts and he and two friends traversed the country.<\/p>\n<p>The German\u2019s enthusiasm for American sports, fast food, and music racked up hundreds of thousands of followers, drew the attention of celebrities and politicians, and led to invitations and meet-ups with country singer <strong>Ella Langley<\/strong>, former Houston Texas player<strong> J.J. Watt<\/strong>, Houston Mayor<strong> John Whitmire<\/strong>, and multiple professional sports teams \u2014 plus lots of complimentary snacks and swag. Germany\u2019s loss during the Round of 32 <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/soccer\/article\/world-cup-2026-freddy-the-viral-german-soccer-fan-vows-to-carry-on-his-journey-despite-germanys-stunning-exit-040055305.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">didn\u2019t end<\/a> Freddy\u2019s travelogue, as he had booked travel for the duration of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>File this under the \u201cThis Is Why We Can\u2019t Have Nice Things\u201d Department: Freddy soon found himself the target of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/internet-tries-dunk-german-super-fan-freddy-discovering-hes-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">backlash<\/a> and conspiracies after political commentators promoted his posts to make partisan arguments. Freddy was accused of faking his guileless enthusiasm for America and being a MAGA plant, some sort of psyop, or secretly on the payroll for some elaborate product marketing scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Online sleuths combed through years of his past posts, arguing that he had misled his followers about not visiting the U.S. before. To be fair, that was not a claim Freddy himself had made but an incorrect assumption by some media and people who shared his posts, and he pointed out that while this was not his first visit to the States, this is a huge and diverse country and it was his first time visiting many areas, especially Southern small towns.<\/p>\n<p>Freddy deactivated his account on X amid the backlash, but has now returned, posting a long explanation on his account, explaining that he had left because \u201cthings became increasingly toxic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor some people, it\u2019s unfortunately unfathomable that a good story can exist without some kind of hidden agenda behind it,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThere was even a Reddit group going through my entire account trying to find anything they could use to reveal my identity.\u201d Throughout his posts, Freddy has avoided showing his face or his friends\u2019 faces, either through the camera angle or by adding emojis to the photos.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"8e83a9936f1fa19007841bbb7bf8e195\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hello again.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re currently in Clemson, South Carolina. I\u2019ve decided to come back here to document the final part of our road trip.<\/p>\n<p>The main reason I deactivated my account two weeks ago was that things became increasingly toxic. For some people, it\u2019s unfortunately\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ep2FSRA3oB\">pic.twitter.com\/Ep2FSRA3oB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Freddy\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea (@FreddyLA7) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FreddyLA7\/status\/2076724002031104233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He continued, saying that he knew it was \u201conly a small percentage of people,\u201d but the attacks \u201cbecame exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, the \u201cmany kind messages\u201d he received from people who told him they \u201cgenuinely enjoyed following\u201d his travels made him change his mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome people even told me that their grandparents regularly ask them, \u2018What are the Germans up to today?\u2019 I think that\u2019s really cool,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI decided to continue because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along. A small group of very loud people shouldn\u2019t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He then addressed one of the key criticisms about his past travels to the U.S.:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I also want to clear something up, as people who follow me on Instagram already know.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been to the United States before. This is not my first visit, and I\u2019ve never claimed that it was. The last time I was here was in January 2022, when I visited New York and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of people shared my Raising Cane\u2019s post from November 2025 to make it look like I was secretly American. That post wasn\u2019t from the United States, it was from my trip to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>This is my first time back in the U.S. in more than four years, and apart from Boston, I\u2019d never visited any of the places we\u2019ve been to on this trip before. That\u2019s probably why many people assumed it was our first time in America, because for all of these places, it actually was.<\/p>\n<p>And let me tell you, Ohio and Alabama are very different from New York City or Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Freddy posted a few other updates Monday as he drove through Tennessee and North Carolina.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"dd9054a2891bd4bb205bc7b5e0f1ef22\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Very peaceful here. It gives me flashbacks to when we went up Brasstown Bald in Georgia last month. Also there are around 2,000 bears in the Smoky Mountains, so we\u2019re hoping to see some.\ud83e\udd1e <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ttYydDQ3ga\">pic.twitter.com\/ttYydDQ3ga<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Freddy\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea (@FreddyLA7) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FreddyLA7\/status\/2076781442072264784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The World Cup semi-finals start Tuesday with France and Spain battling it out in Dallas, then England and Argentina face off in Atlanta on Wednesday. A third place play-off is scheduled for Saturday, July 18 in Miami and the final game for the coveted trophy will be Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>New: The Mediaite One-Sheet &#8220;Newsletter of Newsletters&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/subscribe\">Subscribe now!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\nn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\ndocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Screenshot via @FreddyLA7 on X. \u201cFreddy,\u201d the German tourist who went viral for his awestruck posts extolling the delights of American cultural institutions like Waffle House and Buc-ee\u2019s as he travelled the country for the World Cup, has returned to social media after a brief hiatus, just in time for the semi-final matches. Along with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HLdSJFDXUAAhRz4.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}