Fact check: Fabricated July 4 tweet attributed to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene circulates online
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The claim: An image shows a July 4 tweet from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
On July 4, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., shared a tweet to her official account honoring the Americans who signed the Declaration of Independence.
But a Facebook post shared July 4 shows a screenshot of a different tweet Greene purportedly shared in recognition of Independence Day.
"246 years ago Jesus Christ performed his miracle of making a single days worth of bullets last 8 days, allowing The Continental Army (Americans Woot!) to defeat the Socialist Mexicans and the Liberal British (who were also Muslim)," reads the purported tweet. "That’s why I give thanks this 4th of July."
The post generated over 300 interactions and 60 shares in less than a week. Similar posts have amassed hundreds of interactions on Facebook and Instagram.
But the image of the purported tweet is altered. USA TODAY found no evidence the Republican lawmaker shared such a tweet on her official account, and her spokesperson said it's not real.
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USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.
Tweet is fabricated
The purported tweet is "totally fabricated," Nick Dyer, Greene's spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an email.
USA TODAY, like other independent fact-checking organizations, did not find the purported tweet on Greene's official Twitter account. No archived versions of the tweet exist either.
City of Rome, GA & Floyd County, the Facebook page that shared the fabricated tweet, also says in its bio that the page is "completely satirical."
But people still believed the tweet was real.
"Shes obviously playing the game of 'how many buzz words can I use to scare and (anger) poorly informed old white people,'" one comment on the Facebook post reads.
Another comment on the post reads, "She is rather disturbing and disturbed!"
Happy Independence Day!
Let us have honor like these men. pic.twitter.com/X1gmBrQmx9— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 4, 2022
But the only tweet Greene shared on July 4 in recognition of Independence Day on her official account was an image of a Declaration of Independence stone acknowledging those who signed the document with the caption: "Happy Independence Day! Let us have honor like these men."
USA TODAY has debunked several baseless claims purporting to show tweets from politicians such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.
Our rating: Altered
Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image that purports to show a July 4 tweet from Greene. The claimed tweet is fabricated, according to Greene's spokesperson. There is no evidence the tweet exists.
Our fact-check sources:
PolitiFact, July 5, No, Marjorie Taylor Greene didn’t tweet this on July 4
Marjorie Taylor Greene, July 4, Tweet
Marjorie Taylor Greene, accessed July 6, Twitter profile
Politwoops, accessed July 7, Deleted Tweets From Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga
USA TODAY, May 31, Fact check: No evidence Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has a Twitter template for mass shootings
USA TODAY, March 11, Fact check: Fake Paul Gosar tweet circulates after Romney critiques appearance with white nationalists
Nick Dyer, July 6-July 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fabricated tweet from Marjorie Taylor Greene circulates