FACT CHECK: ‘Conservatives Must Be Silenced’ – Did Kamala Harris Tweet That Quote While Calling For People To Report An Instagram Account?
A viral Instagram post purportedly shows a tweet by Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris calling for people to report a specific Instagram account, saying, “Conservatives must be silenced to stop them from spreading their hate speech.”
Verdict: False
The tweet appears to have been fabricated. There is no record of Harris tweeting such a message.
Fact Check:
The post shows what appears to be a screen grab of an Aug. 31 tweet from Harris in which she calls for her followers to report an Instagram account belonging to a “15 year old conservative YouTuber,” according to the account’s bio. “Everyone go report @samgerstmann on Instagram!” reads the alleged tweet. “He is criticizing Black Lives Matter which is clear racism. Conservatives must be silenced to stop them from spreading their hate speech. Do not follow him!”
However, there is no record of Harris tweeting the message. The Daily Caller News Foundation searched both of her verified Twitter accounts – @KamalaHarris and @SenKamalaHarris – and found nothing resembling the pictured tweet. A search of ProPublica’s archive of her deleted tweets also turned up no matches. (RELATED: Did Kamala Harris Say, ‘Our Military Are Soulless Cowards’?)
The tweet appears to have been fabricated using a tweet generator website, with it possibly being shared on social media in an attempt to gain more followers for the account. Check Your Fact has previously debunked social media posts claiming to show tweets from Harris that she never actually sent, including one recently that claimed she sent a tweet “setting the record straight” about her name.
Harris has been the subject of considerable media attention and misinformation since Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced her as his 2020 running mate on Aug. 11.
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