gistfile1.php

<?php
/**
* I am adding this within a loop
**/

$current_user = wp_get_current_user();

// This is data that we get from the users profile, its auto-populated based on three fields.
$user_filter_criteria = get_field('user_filter_criteria', 'user_'. $current_user->ID);

// This is data in a custom post type meta field that is supposed to match the above.
$filter_criteria = get_field('filter_criteria');

//  $t_user_f = strtolower (trim( $user_filter_criteria ) );
//  $t_f = strtolower (trim( get_field('filter_criteria' ) ) );

 if ( $user_filter_criteria === $filter_criteria ) {
    echo 'Its True';
    } else { echo 'Its False' . var_dump($user_filter_criteria) . '' . var_dump($filter_criteria) ."\n";
 }
 
 // This is the output:string(44) "automotive services western cape west coast" string(43) "automotive services western cape west coast" Its False
 // I have tried trim() and strcmp()