Image shows fabricated AOC post about conservatives' 'misogyny and racism' | Fact check

Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Image shows post from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressing online 'misogyny and racism' from conservatives

A May 6 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez alongside a claim that she took aim at a social media user.

A second image in the post shows what appears at first glance to be a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the congresswoman.

“Conservative Instagram pages keep harassing me with misogyny and racism,” reads the text of the supposed post. "The page @UnwokeFreedom posted a meme calling me a ‘Big booty Latina’ which is obnoxious and should not be tolerated on the platform. Do NOT follow them!”

The post received more than 600 likes in three days.

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Our rating: Altered

The X post is a fabrication. No such post exists from that account, which is a parody with no connection to Ocasio-Cortez, her campaign spokesperson said. The screenshotted post was digitally edited to remove the term “(parody)” from the account's name.

Fabricated AOC post resembles one from parody account

Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has routinely drawn criticism from Republicans during her three terms in Congress over an agenda that includes criminal justice reform and fighting climate change.

But she did not post on X about harassment from “conservative Instagram pages,” as the post claims. The screenshotted X post is an edited version of one from a parody account with no ties to the congresswoman.

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The post shared to Instagram is attributed to the satirical X account @AOCpressTwo. But Ocasio-Cortez has no connection to it, Diego de la Vega, a spokesperson for her campaign, said in an email to USA TODAY.

And the text in question didn't come from the parody account, either. The screenshotted post was missing several elements that would be in a real post from the account, including the “(parody)” disclaimer in the username, the blue verification checkmark and the timestamp that indicates when the post was shared.

The text in the purported AOC post instead appears to have originated from a separate X account, which shared a post that was worded identically to the fabricated post three days prior to the Instagram post.

Ocasio-Cortez is frequently the subject of misinformation on social media. USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that her net worth was $29 million, that she and Bill Gates said a cow produces more pollution than a car and that she faces jail time for campaign finance violations.

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AOC didn't post about being harassed. Image is fabricated | Fact check

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