Article About AOC and the Iron Dome Blocking Out the Sun is Satire
The Claim
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that an Iron Dome over an entire country would be impractical since it would block out the sun.
News posted on
Emerging story
On September 25, 2021, the Babylon Bee published an article titled: “AOC Argues That An Iron Dome Over An Entire Country Would Be Completely Impractical, Would Block Out The Sun.” Many social media users shared the article as though it were true.
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: As we’ve discussed before at Misbar, the Babylon Bee is a satire website. Reading the article would indicate to most that it is satirical. For example, the final line says that after initially arguing that we should not fund the Iron Dome, “Ocasio-Cortez had reversed her stance after learning the dome would only be blocking the sun for the Jews.”
However, the claim does stem from a real recent House vote determining whether to spend $1 billion to fund Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. AOC voted “present”; she could be seen crying in a video after the vote, which ultimately passed 420-9.
The day after the vote, AOC published an open letter explaining why she voted “present” instead of “no,” even though she believes the bill should have been opposed. The letter concludes with an apology: “To those I have disappointed - I am deeply sorry. To those who believe this reasoning is insufficient or cowardice - I understand. To those who asked me to quell the volatility of this moment in our community, which constituted the majority of constituent feedback our office received - I hope we can take this moment and opportunity to more deeply engage in and grow a true, substantive movement of community support for human rights around the world - which includes cherishing and respecting the human rights of Palestinian people.”
