An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a tweet from Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that reads, “I got COVID because Republicans can’t date me.”

Verdict: False

The tweet is fabricated. A spokesperson from Ocasio-Cortez’s office confirmed the tweet is fake.

Fact Check:

Ocasio-Cortez announced Jan. 9 via her congressional Twitter account that she tested positive for COVID-19. Following her diagnosis, social media users began sharing a screen grab of an alleged tweet from Ocasio-Cortez’s personal account where she blamed Republicans, climate change and racism for her positive test result.

“I got COVID because Republicans can’t date me. And Climate Change. And Racism,” reads the alleged tweet.

The image does not, however, show a genuine tweet from Ocasio-Cortez. Check Your Fact reviewed both of her verified Twitter accounts — @AOC and @RepAOC — and did not find the tweet in question. A search of ProPublica’s archive of Ocasio-Cortez’s deleted tweets also turned up no matches for the purported tweet.

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez’s office, confirmed to Check Your Fact via email that the tweet is fake. (RELATED: No, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Did Not Send This Tweet About Olympic Qualification Rules)

Ocasio-Cortez did publish a tweet on Dec. 31 accusing Republicans of “projecting their sexual frustrations” onto her. The tweet was in response to a viral image of her and her boyfriend, Riley Roberts, vacationing in Florida, according to The Hill.

“If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet. Ya creepy weirdos,” she tweeted.

Ocasio-Cortez has previously had fabricated tweets misattributed to her. In 2019, Check Your Fact debunked a fabricated tweet that suggested she encouraged people to buy electric cars to avoid long gas station lines during preparations for a hurricane.