Image claiming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was wearing a wire during her testimony is digitally altered
Image claiming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was wearing a wire during her testimony digitally altered
(Reuters) An image has been shared by users online making it appear as if U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was wearing a wire while she was testifying on April 22, 2022, in a Georgia state court is digitally altered. A clearer version of the screenshot viewable on C-SPAN of the livestream of her testimony shows Taylor Greene flicking her hair, and not adjusting a wire or earpiece.
Taylor Greene was testifying in a Georgia state court in Atlanta in a novel legal challenge to her candidacy accusing her of violating a U.S. Constitution provision called the "Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause" by supporting an incendiary rally that preceded last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol ( here ).
Users subsequently shared an image online of Greene during the testimony with claims that the representative was wearing a hearing device.
One user shared the image on Twitter with text that reads: “The tweet pointing this out has retweets disabled, so I copied the pic bc people should see. Earpiece at her armpit, got suck [sic] in her hair. See?” ( here ).
The tweet had over 5,600 likes and 3,400 shares at the time of writing.
The image circulating online is heavily filtered and does not show the Republican representative wearing a wire device. Instead, a clearer version of the screenshot as seen on the livestream of the testimony shows Taylor Greene fixing her hair ( here ).
The filter on the image circulating online makes it appear as if a thick strand of Greene’s hair is a type of earpiece.
The clip is also viewable on C-SPAN, Part 4 of her testimony at the administrative hearing [at 1:15:08] where Greene is seen fixing her hair, not flicking aside a wire ( here ).
A spokesperson for Greene, Nick Dyer, also told Reuters that the image does not show Greene wearing an earpiece.
On April 18, 2022, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit seeking to block Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from seeking reelection, alleging she is unfit for office because of her support of rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol, can proceed.
Reuters previously addressed the baseless claim circulating shortly after the 2020 U.S. presidential debates in September 2020 that the Democrat contender and current president Joe Biden was wearing a wire ( here ).The image circulating online at the time likely showed a crease in Biden’s shirt.
VERDICT
Altered. A filtered image circulating online does not show the U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wearing an earpiece. A clearer version of the screenshot viewable on a C-SPAN livestream of Greene’s testimony in a Georgia state court on April 22, 2022, shows the Republican fixing her hair, not shifting an earpiece.
