Social media users make a fictitious appointment from US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N. Y.) in which he allegedly claimed that personal truck drivers were “destroying America.” Additional messages indicate that Ocasio-Cortez proposed that all trucks be “regulated by the government” with drivers in “full-time camera”. This quote is false and comes from a satirical article.
The full text of the article attributes to Ocasio-Cortez the following quotation: “Private truckers destroy the United States. They succeed in about four miles consistent with the gallon, believe they own the road and throw urine bottles out the windows so they can stay driving. It’s a barbaric industry. All trucks will be regulated by the government and drivers will be under the camera all the time until we can figure out how to automate our shipments and eliminate them completely.”
Examples of claims can be seen here and here.
The messages show a cropped photo of Ocasio-Cortez next to the quote, which comes from the satirical news “Bustatroll.org” (bustatroll.org/). He’s obviously marked as containing fun and satirical content.
An archived edition of the article on which this quotation is based, entitled “Ocasio-Cortez calls to ban trailers:”Trucks kill America “, is visual in archive.vn/hyHtX. The item’s labels come with “AOC horror “and” Fan fiction” tales.
However, on social media, the fictitious appointment attributed to Ocasio-Cortez is taken seriously through some users. Comments posted in reaction include: “You don’t know what you’re talking about” and “Cortez, down and up close.” (here)
Last year, Ocasio-Cortez, along with U.S. Senator Edward Markey, unveiled legislation for the Green New Deal, the first formal attempt by lawmakers to define potential legislation to create government-led investments in clean energy and infrastructure to transition the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels ( here ).
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Green New Deal plan, approved through Ocasio-Cortez’s 2020 presidential campaign, included provisions to upgrade all diesel trucks with “long-range electric trucks and fast-loading.” (here)
False. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not say that personal truckers were destroying the United States. This is derived from a satirical article.
This item was produced through the Reuters Fact Check team. Learn more about our paintings by reviewing social media posts here.
All quotes were delayed for at least 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of operations and delays.
© 2020 Reuters. All rights are reserved.