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Lindsey Graham imposter content satire

No, Sen. Lindsey Graham didn’t question whether it’s a good thing for people to have insulin

After Sen. Lindsey Graham and 42 other Republican senators voted to remove a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that would have capped the price of insulin at $35 as the provision ran afoul of parliamentarian rules, a satirical quote took on a life of its own. Social media users mistook it as a genuine statement from the South Carolina senator criticizing the availability of this life-saving medication as it didn’t address problems with overpopulation. But Graham never said this. Let’s take a look at the facts.

A tweet that reads, “Lindsey Graham on CSPAN: ‘The Democrats are trying to attack us over this insulin thing. But next time you’re in a long line at the grocery store, ask yourself: is it REALLY a good thing for more people to have life-saving medication? I thought liberals said we’re overpopulated.” The News Literacy Project has added a label that says, “SATIRE.”
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham did not say “is it REALLY a good thing for more people to have life-saving medication? I thought liberals said we’re overpopulated.”
This is a satirical quote that originated on an influential commentary account on Twitter.
A $35 cap on insulin from private insurers was removed from the Inflation Reduction Act because the provision was not compliant with the chamber’s budget rules.
Forty-three Republican senators, including Graham, voted to remove the provision.

NewsLit takeaway

It can be easy to miss the signs of misinformation in the heat of the moment. If you are outraged about an issue, you may be more susceptible to believe claims that play into that anger. Remember to pause, reflect and examine the media on your feed, especially when it contains emotionally charged content, in order to make better judgments about its contents. Just because this may “feel” like something Graham would say, it doesn’t mean that he said it.

This satirical quote originated with an influential commentary account run by a former assistant U.S. attorney named Ken White. While this account often provides commentary on genuine news stories, it also shares memes and humorous items. The fictitious quote misattributed to Graham was originally presented without any indications that it was satirical. It wasn’t until many people were fooled by this quote that the account posted a follow-up message to clarify that this was not a genuine quote from Graham.

Featured Fact-Checks

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