Fact check: Video shows Jim Jordan praising Trump at rally, not talking 'jailtime' for Pelosi

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Video shows Jim Jordan talking about 'jailtime' for Nancy Pelosi

USA TODAY has recently debunked a series of social media posts that feature videos of politicians paired with misleading and attention-grabbing captions. A new example claims to show Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Oh. talking about possible "jailtime" for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"Watch Jim Jordan DESTROYS Pelosi with 'possible' JAILTIME after 'committee' JOKE with Liz Cheney," reads the caption of the video in a Dec. 11 Facebook post.

The video was viewed more than 100,000 times in less than two weeks.

But the caption describes something that was never said.

The video shows Jordan voicing his support for former President Donald Trump at a rally. He does not mention jail time for Pelosi in the clip.

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

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Jordan doesn't talk about 'jailtime' in video

The video included in the post shows Jordan praising Trump and criticizing Democrats at a 2021 pro-Trump rally in Ohio.

At one point, he does mention Pelosi, saying, "Tonight as we sit here and talk, you can’t go to your Capitol to petition your member of Congress to redress your grievances because Nancy Pelosi won’t let you in."

After this comment, the crowd begins to chant "Lock her up!"

But Jordan never says anything about jail time for Pelosi.

This style of misinformation, in which a misleading caption is paired with a legitimate video, 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 caption is obviously wrong if someone watches the entire video, “the majority of people scroll past these with the sound off," Caulfield said. “The fact it autoplays silently makes it engaging, without undermining the (inaccurate) framing.”

The claim was also debunked by PolitiFact.

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

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Jordan talking about "jailtime" for Pelosi. The video is miscaptioned. It shows Jordan praising Trump and criticizing Democrats. He doesn't talk about possible jail time for Pelosi.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim Jordan talks "jailtime" for Pelosi in video