Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke June 13, 2023

No Nancy Pelosi aide appears in this clickbait Facebook post

If Your Time is short

  • No aides to U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi appear in this video.

The first clue that a video clip recently shared on Facebook isn’t current is the image of then-Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., sitting among the members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which he chaired in 2015.

That’s when the hearing in this clip took place. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was there that day to testify about a 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. 

The June 10 Facebook post sharing the video describes it like so: "F.ight BREAKS as Pelosi’s aide tries to SNAP at Trey Gowdy after his FIERY question to C.linton." 

It was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The hearing is certainly heated — Insider described Gowdy’s opening statement as "fiery." But no aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appears. The tension is between Gowdy and the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who criticized the committee as partisan. 

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

No physical fight breaks out, and at one point, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chimes in. 

If the post used Pelosi's name to describe this interaction to draw more people to click on the link, the video may have had some disappointed viewers. 

We rate claims that it shows one of her aides snapping at Gowdy False.

 

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

No Nancy Pelosi aide appears in this clickbait Facebook post

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up