No, Sen. Marsha Blackburn didn’t make a white power symbol at Ketanji Brown Jackson

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she questioned Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during Jackson’s recent confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. 

In the days since, an image of Blackburn in which her hand is resting on her arm with her thumb and index finger touching has been shared on social media with the claim that she was flashing a hate symbol at Jackson. 

"Marsha Blackburn decided to throw some painfully obvious white power signs during Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation. I hope it goes viral so the press is forced to question her," one April 7 tweet says. 

The tweet was liked more than 30,000 times. 

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stated on October 14, 2020 in a Facebook post

Says Amy Coney Barrett said "calling a Black employee the N-word does not make for a hostile work environment."

It’s also worth noting that this gesture is not now a universal white power gesture. According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2017, members of the website 4chan falsely claimed that it represented the letters "WP" for "white power."

"The hoaxers hoped that the media and liberals would overreact by condemning a common image as white supremacist," the Anti-Defamation League said in this article explaining the gesture. While overwhelmingly people use the gesture to signify assent or approval, "as well as other usages unrelated to white supremacy," the league says, it has also been used as a sincere expression of white supremacy. 

What’s not true: that Blackburn made a white power gesture at Jackson. 

We rate that claim False.