Check your sources: Pelosi fooled by fake Flynn tweet (VIDEO)

15 Feb, 2017 09:28 / Updated 8 years ago

House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi read a fake tweet to reporters on Tuesday not knowing it came from a parody account of resigned National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Pelosi falsely said that Flynn had described himself as a “scapegoat” in the blunder.

Flynn resigned from his position as national security advisor on Monday after allegedly downplaying conversation he had with the Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak when detailing the call afterwards to Vice-President Mike Pence.

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“The tweet of General Flynn today was ‘scapegoat’. Do you know what a scapegoat is?” Pelosi said during a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, before providing those in attendance with the Biblical definition of the term.

“What can be drawn from his statement is that other people have blame that should be shared in all of this,” the Democrat continued.

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Unfortunately for Pelosi she had failed to look twice at the Twitter account she was getting her information from, which was clearly labeled “Parody Account” in its bio.

When informed by an aide that what she had just read was fake the Democrat reportedly replied, “What do you mean it’s fake?” according to a journalist at the press conference.

Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) also made the same mistake at the event, reportedly due to a story from the New York Times, which was also fooled by the parody account and used its tweets as genuine quotes. The NYT has since removed the reference.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren used the term “scapegoat” in a tweet, but it is unknown if this is a reference to the parody account’s tweet.

The parody account itself hit out at those fooled by its presence, saying it was “a testament to the severity of liberal #FakeNews epidemic that Dem politicians falsely accuse others based on 100% unverified nonsense!”