Sharpiegate

Proper noun

Sharpiegate

1. (informal) A 2002 controversy where Terry Owens signed a football with a Sharpie hidden in his sock.
   • THERE WILL be no Sharpiegate to distract the 49ers this week. Terrell Owens' latest hand grenade was not only defused, it turned out not to be explosive at all.2002 October 16, David Steele, “The pen is mightier than 49ers, as long as it's in the end zone”, in SFGate
2. (informal) A 2019 controversy around US president Donald Trump presenting a modified weather map indicating that Alabama would be hit by Hurricane Dorian, in opposition to official forecasts.
   • The US secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, is facing calls for his resignation after it was reported that he had threatened to fire senior staff at a federal agency unless they sided publicly with Donald Trump in the rumbling dispute dubbed “Sharpiegate”.2019 September 10, Ed Pilkington, “Wilbur Ross faces calls to resign after report he threatened firings over 'Sharpiegate'”, in The Guardian
   • The President then doubled down on his claim that Alabama was at risk. On Sept. 4, he gave an update on the storm while sitting in front of a map that appeared to have been altered with a black marker to make it seem like Alabama might be hit. Public backlash ensued, and the moment was swiftly...2020 February 1, Madeleine Carlisle, “Newly-Released NOAA Emails Show Anger and Confusion Around Trump’s ‘Doctored’ Hurricane Dorian Map”, in TIME, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2020
3. (informal) A conspiracy theory claiming that ballots marked with Sharpie pens were unfairly disqualified in the 2020 US presidential election.