Fact check: Fake Paul Gosar tweet circulates after Romney critiques appearance with white nationalists

Bayliss Wagner, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Rep. Paul Gosar tweeted that he’s been called 'stupid' his whole life

In a CNN interview in late February, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, indirectly referred to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., as "morons" for having spoken at the America First Political Action Committee conference.

"Anybody who would sit down with white nationalists and speak at their conference was certainly missing a few IQ points," Romney told interviewer Dana Bash.

Soon afterward, an image purporting to show Gosar's response circulated online, totaling hundreds of interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit.

"Mitt Romney says that speaking at a white nationalist event makes me a 'moron,'" the image of a tweet supposedly from Gosar reads. "Does he think that bothers me, being called stupid? I’ve heard it my whole life. From my classmates. My colleagues. My constituents. The media. My siblings. Every teacher I ever had. Nice try though."

On Facebook, a March 1 post in the popular group Stale memes for normie has-beens showed the image of the supposed tweet shared on the Twitter page Conservative Self-Owns.

"Remember when 'binders full of women' was a really severe gaffe?" the Facebook post's caption read.

However, Gosar never tweeted this. Conservative Self-Owns noted this in a correction to its tweet and deleted the post, but dozens of others remain online.

USA TODAY reached out to Gosar and the users who shared the post for comment.

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Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., speaks at a news conference at the Capitol Building on Dec. 7, 2021.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., speaks at a news conference at the Capitol Building on Dec. 7, 2021.

No evidence of tweet

The image of the supposed Gosar tweet was digitally manipulated to appear as if it came from his account. There's no evidence he posted a tweet matching that text.

There's no record of the tweet on Gosar's Twitter feed, nor on Politwoops' page for Gosar. Politwoops is ProPublica's repository of deleted Twitter posts from politicians' accounts.

The fake tweet screenshot was first posted in the satirical subreddit r/TotallyRealTweets by a Reddit user who calls herself the “Shakespeare of Fake Tweets.”

As such, secondhand posts of the supposed tweet on Facebook and Twitter are examples of "stolen satire," where elements initially presented as satire are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate claims. As a result, some social media users are misled.

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks to the chamber to condemn the actions of Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who tweeted an animated video that depicted him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with a sword, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 17, 2021.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks to the chamber to condemn the actions of Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who tweeted an animated video that depicted him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with a sword, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 17, 2021.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Gosar tweeted that he’s been called "stupid" his whole life. According to Politiwoops and Gosar's Twitter feed, the politician never sent this tweet.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fake Paul Gosar tweet circulates online after Romney dig