Fact check: Clinton Foundation confirms Chelsea Clinton tweet about whiteness is fake
The claim: Chelsea Clinton tweeted that people don’t have to be white
For years, Bill and Hillary Clinton have been frequent conspiracy theory targets. Now, the former secretary of state’s and the former president’s daughter is the subject of misinformation.
A viral image appears to show a tweet in which Chelsea Clinton urged people not to “be white.”
“Lesson Number Two From Racial Rehab today. Just because your skin IS white doesn’t mean you have to BE white,” claims the fake tweet shared on Facebook May 8.
The image is complete with Clinton’s current profile picture, her official Twitter handle and a verification checkmark.
This is not the only time social media users have shared fake tweets about Clinton. On May 10, USA TODAY debunked another claim supposedly from her account that appeared to show Clinton referencing religion and abortion.
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The Facebook user that shared the doctored image shared several other inauthentic Clinton tweets in the post’s comment section. He did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Chelsea Clinton speaks onstage at the GMHC 35th Anniversary Spring Gala at Highline Stages on March 23, 2017, in New York City. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images)
Clinton Foundation confirms the tweet is phony
A Clinton Foundation spokesperson and a review of Clinton’s Twitter profile confirm tweet is fake. Sara Horowitz, a spokesperson for Chelsea Clinton, said in an email to USA TODAY that the tweet is inauthentic.
An advanced search of Clinton’s Twitter profile found no record of the tweet. In fact, a review of Clinton’s profile shows she did not author any tweets on May 8.
The doctored image indicates the fake tweet garnered 25,000 retweets,15,000 quote tweets and 99,000 likes. Yet, USA TODAY could not find any mainstream news reports about the tweet.
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Clinton has condemned white supremacy on Twitter before, however, there is no record of any tweets that urged people not to be white or referenced “Racial Rehab.”
Our rating: False
We rate the claim that Clinton tweeted that people don’t have to “BE white” FALSE because it is not supported by our research. A spokesperson from the Clinton Foundation confirmed and her official Twitter profile shows she did not tweet that.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, May 10, Fact check: Chelsea Clinton did not tweet about Jesus and Planned Parenthood
- Sara Horowitz, a spokesperson for Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Foundation, May 17, email interview
- Twitter, accessed May 17, Advanced search “Less Number Two”
- Chelsea Clinton, accessed May 17, Twitter profile
- Chelsea Clinton, Jan. 20, tweet
- Twitter, accessed May 17, Advanced search “white”
- Twitter, accessed May 17, Advanced search “Racial Rehab”
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Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
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