An image shared on Facebook claims Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that it is time to “roundup all Conservative traitors.”

Facebook/Screenshot

Verdict: False

There is no record of Ocasio-Cortez ever sending or deleting the tweet. It appears to have been fabricated.

Fact Check:

Congress certified Biden as the winner of the election early on Jan. 7, according to CNN, and he is set to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Ocasio-Cortez has previously voiced her support of President-elect Joe Biden, Bloomberg reported.

The image claims to show a screen grab of a tweet from Ocasio-Cortez that reads in part, “Congrats to President Joe Biden. Now let’s begin ‘The Purge’ to roundup all Conservative traitors!” Some users also alleged that Ocasio-Cortez deleted the purported tweet, which goes on to make an anti-Semitic statement.

In reality, there is no record of Ocasio-Cortez ever tweeting or deleting the message. A search of both Ocasio Cortez’s verified Twitter accounts – @AOC and @RepAOC – turned up no matches for the tweet. Check Your Fact also searched ProPublica’s archive of her deleted tweets and found no evidence of her deleting it. The statement in the purported tweet can’t be found in any of her other social media posts either.

If Ocasio-Cortez had tweeted the comment, it likely would have garnered media coverage, yet Check Your Fact didn’t find any media reports about her making the statement. The tweet appears to be fabricated. (RELATED: Did Kayleigh McEnany Delete ‘5 Days Or So’ Of Tweets After The Election?)

Ocasio-Cortez is often the target of online misinformation. In June 2020, social media users falsely claimed the New York congresswoman tweeted, “It’s vital that Governors maintain restrictions on businesses until after the November Elections because economic recovery will help Trump be re-elected.” That tweet was also fake.