Viral quote is from a neo-Nazi in 1993, not from Voltaire
A viral meme falsely attributes a quote from a neo-Nazi to the French philosopher Voltaire. It was shared by Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on Jan. 30. Let’s take a look at the facts.
Voltaire, an 18th century French philosopher and writer, did not say or write the quote in this meme.
It paraphrases a statement made by Kevin Alfred Strom, the founder of the neo-Nazi group National Vanguard, who is an avowed white nationalist and Holocaust denier, during an antisemitic radio show in 1993.
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie tweeted this meme on Jan. 30.
Rep. Massie is not the first person to share this fake Voltaire quote.
NewsLit takeaway
NewsLit takeaway: Fake quotes are notoriously common online and warrant correcting even if they seem benign. But, as Dan Evon at Snopes points out, this case also highlights a toxic disinformation tactic: An attempt to launder “discredited ideas and hateful rhetoric” through a more trustworthy source to make them more acceptable and likely to spread online.
Featured Fact-Checks
- “Neo-Nazi, not Voltaire, originated quote about 'who rules over you'” (Bill McCarthy, PolitiFact).
- “Fact check: Quote tweeted by GOP congressman came from neo-Nazi convicted for child porn, not Voltaire” (Daniel Dale, CNN).
- “US congressman shares neo-Nazi’s quote wrongly attributed to Voltaire” (Sophia Tulp, The Associated Press).
- “Rep. Massie Misattributes Neo-Nazi Quote to Voltaire” (Dan Evon, Snopes).