As protests against the murder of unarmed Black people by police continue across the nation, far-Right commentator Tomi Lahren issued a rare apology after sharing a flier falsely attributed to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Lahren has been vocally against the Black Lives Matter movement and similar ideologies for years, referring to Black protesters as "thugs" and likening Black Lives Matter to the Ku Klux Klan.
The flier Lahren tweeted claimed that Black Lives Matter endorses hatred against White people, calls "White men, women, and children" the enemy, and advocates for "more White homicides than Black."
After deleting her original tweet which treated the flier as fact, Lahren apologized and claimed she was "sincerely glad" the flier wasn't in any way endorsed by BLM or representative of the organization's platform.
This is a hoax. If people really did receive it or not I don't know but it wasn't circulated by BLM itself. That is honestly a relief and I am glad it's untrue. I will certainly apologize when I'm wrong and I apologize. I am sincerely glad it's not being endorsed by BLM. pic.twitter.com/4f4kR7ISxS
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) June 29, 2020
A simple search of the fact-checking website Snopes would have revealed to Lahren that the flier was debunked two weeks ago.
According to Snopes, the earliest postings of this flier originate with far-Right accounts:
"It isn't clear who created this fake poster. The earliest posting that we could find was from June 11, 2020, from a Qanon Twitter account, a wide-ranging and far-right conspiracy theory based almost entirely on anonymous social media posts that claim a 'deep state' plot exists against President Donald Trump. From there, it was shared to the Russian site Aftershock.news; an All Lives Matter account; and an account adorned with British flags, where it received thousands of retweets."
What's more, the flier directly contradicts the official platform and demands of Black Lives Matter:
In addition to the fact that this flyer originated with posters critical of BLM — and not with BLM accounts spreading this message in earnest — the statements on this flyer are also contrary to the positions of the Black Lives Matter movement. Nowhere on the Black Lives Matter website are white people identified as "enemies," and the website is void of any calls to violence against white people.
Despite her apology, Lahren still insists that she heard that a friend of her friend found the flier in her mailbox.
The photo of the flyer was sent to me by a friend who said her friend found it in her mailbox in VA. Whoever made it-Left, Right, Black, White or Purple, it's disgusting. Anyone that would write or plant it is shameful.
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) June 29, 2020
Lahren is a frequent critic of the media and constantly echoes derisions from President Donald Trump dismissing journalists as promulgators of "fake news."
But people soon pointed out that Lahren was the one tweeting unverified, and proven fake, "news."
Tomi tweets first and then Investigates later
— Matthew Rago (@Mattrago98) June 29, 2020
This really might be the first time you've apologized on Twitter. This happens every day and you fall for it every time. Maybe investigate something before tweeting it...?
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) June 29, 2020
Could've handled this in any other way and it would've been better.... Like taking down the original post, maybe not responding to people calling you out for spreading misinfo immediately with "ooh well it doesn't matter where it came from it's still scary!"
— bombini bombus (@TLatte306) June 29, 2020
Damage is done. Apologies can't catch up with misinformation.
— Michele Carbone (@ladolcevitaone) June 29, 2020
The claim that she'd heard from a friend that their friend received it in her mailbox didn't help either.
“A friend of a friend"🤣 Fox's finest on sourcing right there
— Angelina Newsom (@amsoufi_) June 29, 2020
Look at that caliber of journalism!
— Richard Kleikamp (@KleikampRichard) June 29, 2020
It was... my friend's friend! Yeah that'll cover it up nicely...
— got my Karens in Paris, and they calling managers (@Austin316ths) June 29, 2020
The “friend of a friend" defense. Oldie but a goodie.
— Pancho (@hamrickergo) June 29, 2020
A friend of a friend. Sounds legit.
— Paige Venable (@PaigiepooToo) June 29, 2020
Sooooo....this was third hand information. Girl bye.
— 𝓙𝓪𝓷𝓾𝓪𝓻𝔂𝓖𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓮 (@januarygrace81) June 29, 2020
Lahren's views on Black Lives Matter aren't expected to change.
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