Recently, a rumor has been circulating which states that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s brother had been arrested and charged after being caught with $1.2 million worth of fentanyl. Naturally some MAGA folk have jumped on this news, using it as some sort of “gotcha” moment, although maybe they should have checked the source before spreading the story.
It seems the right are looking for any excuse to come after AOC, probably because they know she’s one of the few capable of exposing their stupidity. One video posted this week to TikTok by Trump er, “Mamawendi,” received thousands of views and likes. The clip, which has since been deleted, shared a Facebook post claiming that AOC’s brother, Matthew, had been caught by the coast guard with a boatload of fentanyl on the waters of Lake Superior.
The danger of fake news
A fake news article appearing in satirical outlet, The Dunning-Kruger Times, elaborated on the rumor. The article cites Vice iral Joe Barron who claims there was “credible information of a drug buy” but that they weren’t expecting such a high-profile individual to be onboard, “we were expecting some amateur traffickers, not someone with a 23andMe link to Congress.”
According to Snopes, the rumor spread on social media after numerous Facebook, Threads, and TikTok posts shared the news. It seems people mistook The Dunning-Kruger Times article as a genuine piece of reporting. The article was shared on right-wing Facebook groups and by influencers who didn’t think to fact-check any of it. Sounds about right for MAGA if you ask me.
AOC doesn’t even have a brother called Matthew
The sad thing is it would have been the easiest thing in the world to check the validity of the story. Simply Googling Alexandria’s siblings would have told you that “Matthew” doesn’t even exist. The Vice iral “Joe Barron” who is quoted in the article also doesn’t exist. However, AOC does actually have a brother, but his name isn’t Matthew. Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez is a real person and no, he has not trafficked any drugs.
The fake news gained so much traction that Gabriel actually caught wind of it and responded with his own TikTok. In his response he claims he has no idea why they’re posting this, “I work with the homeless, I have nothing to do with this story.” He ends the video asking MAGA ers to “please find something better to do with your time.”
The confidence some of these MAGA folk have displayed while sharing this very obviously fake piece of news is astounding. Listen, we all fall for misinformation sometimes, but if you’re going to broadcast something to potentially thousands of followers it’s important to know the difference between fact and fiction. A lot of Trump ers are clearly against the use of critical thought but this is just embarrassing.
Published: Apr 23, 2025 10:00 am