The false quote of Nancy Pelosi insulting Americans was satirical

The false quote of Nancy Pelosi insulting Americans was satirical

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The assertion: Pelosi catches that the Americans are the ‘stupidest people on earth’.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, has become a regular target of false allegations and fabricated quotes on social media.

One viral Facebook post claims Pelosi was caught on a hot microphone that Americans call dumb.

“Pelosi grabbed the hot Mike (sic) and said, ‘Americans are (the) dumbest people on earth,'” the report reads.

The text message was shared on March 11 and has more than 817 shares and 50 responses.

Some users have recently shared similar versions of the claim in the form of a screenshot pretending to be a Michigan Today news article.

The headline reads: “Caught on a hot microphone, Pelosi says ‘Americans are the dumbest people on earth’.” Above the text is an image of the house’s speaker with press members.

USA TODAY targeted Facebook users for comment.

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Claim began as satire in 2019

There is no evidence that Pelosi ever said that Americans are “the dumbest” or “dumbest” people on earth. The claim originated on a website that publishes satirical content.

The quote first appeared on October 20, 2019 in an article on the website bustatroll.org, a subsidiary of America’s Last Line of Defense, which publishes fictional stories.

The story is filed under ‘Pelosi Satire with Chile Sauce and Liquid Cheese, Satire and / or Conservative Fan Fiction’ and the author of the article is ‘Fired Writer’.

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The page about us on Bustatroll.org reads: “Everything on this site is fiction. It’s not a lie and it’s not fake news because it’s not real. If you believe it’s real, you should investigate let investigate.

The disclaimer further states that any similarity between the website’s “pure fantasy” and actual events, people and places, is “merely coincidental” and should be considered “altered and satirical”.

Michigan Today is not involved

Michigan Today, an alumni publication covering news from the University of Michigan, did not publish such a story on Pelosi, as is claimed in some versions of the report. The Store is an alumni publication that covers news from the University of Michigan.

Editor Deborah Holdship told USA TODAY that the Facebook post was not authentic.

“Any messages on social media will appear as #MichiganToday (one word, no” the “), and on the Michigan News social media accounts or the University of Michigan Central Accounts,” she said in an ema .

USA TODAY has previously unleashed reports surrounding Pelosi that originate on satirical websites which are then shared on social media.

Fact check: Pelosi Tab Bar Claims Unfounded

Our rating: false

The claim that House President Nancy Pelosi was caught calling Americans “the dumbest people on earth” is FALSE, based on our research. The claim comes from a 2019 that explicitly describes itself as satire and there is no record that the House Speaker said it, or that Michigan Today reported on it.

Our sources for fact checking:

  • Bustatroll.org, October 21, 2019, Caught on the hot microphone, Pelosi says ‘Americans are the dumbest people on earth’
  • America’s last line of defense, accessible March 13, over us
  • Visit Bustatroll.org, March 13, about us
  • USA TODAY, August 25, 2020, Fact Check: Viral allegation about Nancy Pelosi and overseas military voters is false, comes from satire website
  • USA TODAY, Fact Check: It is impossible for Pelosi to divert social security funds for accusation
  • Visit Michigan today, March 13, about us

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Our fact-checking work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

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