FACT CHECK: Did Tulsi Gabbard Tweet, ‘Just For The Record, I Am Not Suicidal, And I Have No Plans To Kill Myself’?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook more than 5,800 times claims Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard tweeted, “Just for the record, I am not suicidal, and I have no plans to kill myself.”

“Kinda sad that she even had to do that,” reads the caption.

Verdict: False

The tweet is doctored. There is no record of her tweeting this.

Fact Check: 

Featured in the Facebook post is a screen grab of an alleged tweet from Tulsi Gabbard saying, “Just for the record, I am not suicidal, and I have no plans to kill myself.” It also shows the headline of a Fox Business article about Gabbard’s $50 million defamation lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Clinton calling her a “Russian asset.”

Despite, the tweet looking authentic at first glance, it appears to have been doctored. The Daily Caller found no record the statement in the Hawaii congresswoman’s verified Twitter accounts nor ProPublica’s archive of her deleted tweets.

Another post claims Gabbard made a similar statement in the “Parties” section of her lawsuit against Clinton.

“Tulsi Gabbard is a natural person who is a citizen and domiciliary of the State of Hawaii,” allegedly reads part of the lawsuit. “She has never experienced, does not currently experience, and does not expect to experience, thoughts of suicide.”

But a quick search of the actual lawsuit shows it simply states Gabbard’s citizenship and state of residence. (RELATED: Did Ocasio-Cortez Tweet About Electric Cars During Hurricane Dorian?)

This isn’t the first time the tweets of politicians have been doctored. In recent months, the Caller has debunked fake tweets from President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, among several others.

Gabbard’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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