Fake story claims AOC’s sister vandalized Tesla dealership
A recent social media post appeared to contain a disturbing report about the sister of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“AOC’s Sister Faces Ten Years in Prison for Vandalizing a Tesla Dealership,” read the headline above a photo of the congresswoman from New York standing with another woman.
The story, posted on Facebook by the site America’s Last Line Of Defense, read, “Authorities in Yonkers declined AOC's pleas to release her sister without charges: ‘Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a grown woman who made poor decisions,’ said New York State Prosecutor Joe Barron, ‘She can plead her case to the judge like everyone else.’”
One X post, containing a screenshot of the Facebook story, was topped by the comment, “Hey AOC, now I can say to you that your sister is not above the law! … This is sweet!”
But this report is false, according to fact-checking site Lead Stories. Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t have a sister. She has one brother. There are no credible news reports that Ocasio-Cortez’s sister, or brother, was charged in any such incident.
The website America’s Last Line Of Defense is labeled as a satirical site.
“Nothing on this page is real,” states the top of the site’s Facebook page. And the “About Us” page says, “Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.”
Tattoo photo altered
President Donald Trump sat down for a recent interview with ABC journalist Terry Moran that was broadcast April 29. During the discussion, Trump was asked about Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom the U.S. deported to El Salvador.
The president said Abrego Garcia had a tattoo displayed on the knuckles of his left hand and referred to a photo posted on his Truth Social website. The image is of tattoos on a hand showing a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with the letter X for eyes, a cross and a skull. Above each image, on each knuckle, is M, S, 1 and 3, supposedly referring to the MS-13 gang, and small words below each image.
Moran disputed Trump’s claim.
“Don't do that — M, S, one, three — it says M, S, one, three,” Trump said.
“That was Photoshopped,” Moran countered.
Trump’s claim cannot be substantiated, according to PolitiFact. The letters, numbers and small words don’t appear in any other online photos of Abrego Garcia, including ones posted by El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele.
Experts on gang membership told PolitiFact the images — marijuana leaf, smiley face, cross and skull — are sometimes the marks of those not associated with gangs.
“Within MS-13 culture, such markings would likely be frowned upon and even viewed as a sign of cowardice, as they could be interpreted as an attempt to hide or downplay gang affiliation,” Sean Kennedy, a former federal public defender in California and now a Loyola Law School professor, told PolitiFact.
Video from before Pope Francis died
A video showing a church procession was posted to social media by users criticizing the look of the funeral for Pope Francis.
“Can we talk about how absolutely Satanic this Pope funeral is?” one user wrote above the clip. “From the hats to the upside down crosses … so many conspiracy theories to unwrap in one video.”
But that video has nothing to do with the pope, according to Reuters. It’s a Holy Week procession at the Santa Maria de Gracia church in Cartagena. This event took place several days before Easter, and before Pope Francis died.
The people shown in the clip are wearing the traditional outfits of an all-female section of worshippers called the Tercio del Arrepentimiento de San Pedro, part of a group of Cartagena penitents dedicated to St. Peter.
A penitents’ association spokesperson told Reuters the inverted cross is called the St. Peter’s cross and is a symbol associated with his martyrdom.
Woman not paid to protest
A video posted to Facebook shows a woman explaining how she was paid to protest at the April 5 “Hands Off” rally against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
“They gave me like a time and a place and told me to look for a girl with blue hair and a nose ring,” the woman said in the clip. “They told you that you couldn’t wear anything MAGA. They also asked you not to wear red.”
But this video is fake, according to Reuters. It was originally posted on a TikTok account labeled “SATIRE account. Don't believe what you see on the internet.”
The TikTok user later wrote about the video in a separate post, saying “SATIRE — regrettable” and “I’m sorry. It was satire, it was a joke, it was not real.” The user claimed she removed the video from her account.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.