AOC Did Not Stage Photoshoot in a Parking Lot
The Claim
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez staged a photoshoot dressed in all white at a parking lot to "spread lies" about immigrant children in cages.
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Emerging story
On February 4th, 2021 on Facebook, Sherri Vermaat posted:“On a day in which #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett is trending, please never forget the time that @AOC staged a photo shoot dressed in all white at a parking lot to spread lies about immigrant children in cages.”
The post received over 100 shares with many people attacking AOC, saying things like “She should be an actress!” or calling her an "Absolute Nut case."
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be fake. These photos were taken in June 2018 by Ivan Pierre Aguirre in Tornillo, Texas at a protest against the separation of immigrant children and the detention of families. Aguirre posted more photos of the protest, showing many people gathered.
According to the El Paso Times, the protest was against the Trump administration's immigration policies and “drew a diverse crowd of several hundred.” The protest included teachers, service workers, students, and clergy from the El Paso region and others from as far away as Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Alaska.
On her Twitter account in June 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a video of the protest, clearly showing that this is not a staged event. In the video, AOC can be heard saying “these are human right abuses” as well as chanting “free the children” to ICE officers on the other side of a fence using #AbolishICE in her tweet.
The Facebook post by Sherri Vermaat seems like an attack on AOC’s credibility, in a week where she is already under a lot of fire, as people have accused her of lying or exaggerating about her experience during the storming of the US Capitol.
