Conservative former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who turned 81 on Monday and is campaigning for convicted felon Donald Trump to become the next President of the United States, complained on social media about a photograph he saw on the Internet and assumed was real.
Gingrich wrote (without sharing the photo): “Whoever is flying the Palestinian flag over the US Treasury building should be fired summarily. I just saw the picture of the Palestinian flag flying over the US Treasury building next to the white house and i could not believe it.”
Whoever is flying the Palestinian flag over the US Treasury building should be fired summarily. I just saw the picture of the Palestinian flag flying over the US Treasury building next to the white house and i could not believe it.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) June 16, 2024
Because Gingrich didn’t include a photo of what he claims to have seen, many assumed he saw an AI-generated image. Army combat veteran and political consultant Fred Wellman responded to Gingrich: “You are an idiot. That is not happening but your dumb [expletive] old can’t tell faked photos.”
US Treasury communications director Mike Gwin, set the record straight and replied to Gingrich: “Sir, that’s a pride flag.”
I hope @CommunityNotes corrects this misinformation. pic.twitter.com/c05UiLges8
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) June 17, 2024
Whether Gingrich knew the photo was of a Pride flag or not, his post has been viewed more than one million times. As political pundit Alex Cole replied: “This is how misinformation spreads. Newt didn’t post the photo, but now all of his uneducated followers will believe it.”
Democratic Tennessee Election Commissioner Chris Jackson chimed in: “And these are the idiots that dare suggest President Biden has cognitive decline. You can’t make this up.”