Doctored tweet falsely suggests US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for ‘purge’ of US conservatives
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on January 15, 2021 at 08:40
- 1 min read
- By AFP Australia
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The screenshot was shared in this Facebook post on January 12, 2021.
The post features an image of a purported tweet from US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It reads: “Congrats to President Joe Biden. Now let’s begin “The Purge” to roundup all Conservative traitors! Democrats, let’s make Auschwitz look like a picnic!”
The image was shared in Facebook posts here, here, and here alongside a similar claim.
The claim is false.
A search of the text in the purported tweet on Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter account did not locate any corresponding tweets on January 15, 2021.
A search of Ocasio-Cortez’s record on Politwoops, a database of deleted tweets from politicians maintained by investigative journalism project ProPublica, also produced no results that matched the misleading image.
In response to the misleading posts, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on January 14, 2021 that she did not call for a “purge”.
She wrote in a tweet: "FYI there is (yet another) viral misinformation campaign going on, this time a false tweet that’s been photoshopped to look like I sent out a call for a 'purge.'
“Unsurprisingly it’s circulating like wildfire on FB & Twitter. This is one way death threats & targeting ramp up."
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