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| - By: Naledi Mashishi
September 3 2024
Post claiming to show RFK Jr threatening to sue Joy Reid came from a parody account
Context
A screenshot of a post allegedly from Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr) says that he will sue MSNBC television host Joy Reid for claiming that he referred to Michelle Obama using a racial slur. The screenshot was shared on Facebook on September 1, 2024, but the post fails to mention that the original post was from a parody account.
"Joy Reid's claims that I called Michelle Obama the N-word are completely unfounded. I will be filing suit," the screenshot says.
One Facebook post of the screenshot includes a caption accusing Reid of only revealing the alleged comments because he had endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump. "The mainstream Democrats are so racist they won't say anything about your racism towards black people as long as you keep it low key and you don't vote for any Republicans," it says.
RFK Jr recently suspended his bid as an independent candidate in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. He subsequently announced his support for Trump, and the Kennedy family published a statement condemning the move, calling it "a betrayal of the values our father and our family hold most dear."
But the screenshot comes from a parody account, and we have been unable to find any evidence that Joy Reid accused RFK Jr of calling Michelle Obama the n-word.
What we found
RFK Jr has a genuine account on X (formerly Twitter) under the username @RobertKennedyJr. We could not find any evidence of posts in which he planned to sue Joy Reid.
The original post in the screenshot is from August 31, 2024, and was posted by an account named @RFKJunior24. The post itself is real, but the community notes directly below give away its credibility. "This is a parody account," the note says.
The account in question confirms that it is a parody account in its bio, which reads, "Parody artist. If you fell for my bait, you owe me eight dollars."
A parody is a creative work designed to mock or imitate an existing work or figure. When something is clearly labelled as parody it is not necessarily misinformation, but it can become misinformation when taken out of context and presented as genuine. As the account clearly states in its biography that it is a parody, it is not in violation of X's rules against impersonating other figures.
Logically Facts has contacted RFK Jr for comment, and we will update the check if we receive a response.
The verdict
A screenshot of a post that appears to show RFK Jr threatening to sue MSNBC's Joy Reid for allegedly claiming he called Michelle Obama the n-word has been reshared on Facebook as genuine. However, the post was from a parody account. We could find no evidence of the real RFK Jr threatening to sue Reid. Therefore, we have rated this claim as fake.
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