Profane anti-Biden post from MTG? No, that's parody | Fact check

The claim: Image shows Marjorie Taylor Greene promoting items with profane anti-Biden slogan

Jun 13, 2024; Washington, DC, USA; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) arriving before a gathering with Former President Donald Trump at the Capitol Hill Club and Congressional House Republicans on June 13, 2024 on Capitol Hill. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

A June 17 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a post on X, formerly Twitter, from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. It urges people to “buy more ‘F--- JOE BIDEN’ Flags and signs."

“She has the mental acuity of a child,” the post reads. “Another religious hypocrite.”

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The post was liked more than 100 times in four days.

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Our rating: False

The post didn't come from Greene. The claim originated from an account that identifies itself as parody, but there is no indication of that in the Threads post.

Post originated from parody account, not Greene

Greene, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, has been a consistent critic of Biden throughout his presidency. The Georgia Republican heckled the president during his State of the Union address and introduced impeachment articles against him in 2023.

But the X post urging people to buy profane anti-Biden merchandise didn’t come from her. The screenshotted post does not appear anywhere in either of her official X feeds.

Fact check: Post misleads on photo of Marjorie Taylor Greene in a mask. It's from 2021

Rather, it was posted June 16 by the “Marjorie Taylor Greene Press Release (Parody)” account, @MTGrepp. The congresswoman has no ties to it, spokesperson Nick Dyer previously told USA TODAY.

The screenshotted post does not show the account's full name, with the parody designation truncated and replaced with ellipses. While its profile images bear a strong resemblance to those shown in Greene’s verified congressional account, it states in its bio that it is a parody.

The Threads post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," in which content originally written and presented as parody is captured and reposted in a way that makes it appear authentic. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, which is what happened here.

USA TODAY has debunked several false claims centering on social media users being duped by parody accounts, including assertions that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted that “printing money is the only way out of inflation,” that ex-MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann attacked the female Supreme Court justices in a profane post and that Biden mocked Trump for an $83 million jury verdict levied against him.

USA TODAY reached out to the Threads user who shared the post but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Profane anti-Biden post from MTG? No, that's parody | Fact check