Fact check: False claim video shows Nancy Pelosi crying after Senate floor confrontation

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Video shows Nancy Pelosi crying after confrontation with Sen. Chuck Grassley

USA TODAY has debunked a series of social media posts that feature legitimate videos of politicians paired with misleading and attention-grabbing captions.

This style of misinformation is called "false framing," Mike Caulfield, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, previously told USA TODAY. While the captions are obviously inaccurate once the video is viewed, Caulfied said the posts can still mislead the many social media users who scroll to the video with the sound off.

In a recent example, a miscaptioned video spread online that purportedly shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi crying after a confrontation with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia.

"'Why Did You IMPEACH TRUMP' Pelosi CRIES LIKE KIDS After Grassley Slams Her With Hunter's 'contract,' reads the video's caption in a Nov. 3 Facebook post.

A now-deleted version of the video was viewed more than 15,000 times in a week.

But the caption is wrong. The video shows Grassley presenting information purportedly related to President Joe Biden's family business dealings. Pelosi does not appear in the video, nor does Grassley mention her.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment.

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Pelosi not shown or mentioned in video

The video shows Grassley speaking on the Senate floor in March.

As described on the senator's website, Grassley was presenting financial records purportedly associated with the Biden family that were collected by him and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Pelosi is not shown crying in the clip, nor does Grassley mention her. Grassley also does not ask anyone, "Why did you impeach Trump?"

Fact check: Video shows Jim Jordan talking policy, not calling Nancy Pelosi 'anti-American'

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Pelosi crying after a confrontation with Grassley. In reality, the senator is shown presenting purported financial records. Pelosi is not shown or mentioned in the video.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Video shows Grassley speaking, not Pelosi crying