Ocasio-Cortez tweet about printing money originated as satire | Fact check

The claim: Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that 'printing money is the only way out of inflation'

A May 28 tweet (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of another tweet purportedly from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Printing money is the only way out of inflation,” reads the text of the supposed Ocasio-Cortez tweet.

The tweet featuring the screenshot was retweeted more than 50 times. Iterations of the post were also shared on Facebook.

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Our rating: False

The screenshotted tweet originated from an Ocasio-Cortez parody account. While the account has since been deleted, images of some of its tweets continue to be shared online.

Claim originated from a satirical account

The post shows a screenshot of a tweet from a since-deleted Twitter account called “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody).” The account described itself as a “parody” in its bio.

However, the full name of the account is not visible in all of the screenshots of the tweet shared by social media users, leading some to believe the tweet is a genuine message from Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat.

The parody account had a blue check mark, indicating it was a verified account. It also used the same profile picture and header image as Ocasio-Cortez's verified Twitter account.

But the account is not one of Ocasio-Cortez’s official personal accounts, or one of the accounts managed by her congressional and campaign staff, which are linked on the congresswoman’s official campaign and government websites.

Diego de la Vega, district communication manager for Ocasio-Cortez, told USA TODAY the parody account "is not managed by Rep. AOC, her congressional staff, or her campaign staff."

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Ocasio-Cortez’s official personal and professional accounts are marked with a gray checkmark, indicating they are verified by Twitter and represent a government official.

The congresswoman previously called out the parody account for “releasing false policy statements,” in a May 30 tweet from her official Twitter account. She was prompted to address the parody account after Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to the tweet about printing money.

The viral claim is an example of "stolen satire," in which made-up claims published and labeled as satire are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

USA TODAY reached out to the Twitter and Facebook users who shared the post for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Reuters also debunked this claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, May 30, Tweet

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress, accessed June 2, Home page

• Diego de la Vega, June 2, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Elon Musk, June 2, Tweet

• Twitter Help Center, accessed June 2, How to get the blue checkmark on Twitter

• Twitter Help Center, accessed June 2, About profile labels and checkmarks on Twitter

• United States House of Representatives, accessed June 2, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AOC tweet about printing money for inflation is satire | Fact check