Quick Take
Jill Biden hasn’t said that all Americans will be “required” to learn Spanish if her husband wins the 2020 presidential election, contrary to a false claim shared on social media. The quote first appeared in a headline from a website that calls its work satire.
Full Story
A longtime purveyor of made-up news is behind a headline shared on Facebook claiming that former Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, has said that “All Americans Will Be Required to Learn Spanish When We Win.”
There is no evidence that the former second lady has ever said that.
The website tatersgonnatate.com published its story on Aug. 20, claiming in the text that Jill Biden’s “only initiative as First Lady will be to require all Americans to learn Spanish.”
The website belongs to America’s Last Line of Defense, a publisher that deems its work satire and has concocted many stories over the years, with the purported mission of duping conservatives. Many of its claims generate confusion or are spread online without the disclaimers that exist on the originating websites.
In this case, the same fabricated quote from the headline also appeared in a popular Aug. 26 Facebook post, erroneously attributing the information to “New York Post.”
We could find no New York Post article actually reporting on the supposed quote. Instead, we came across other fact-checks that made note of dubious websites that also reportedly spread the claim.
Even the link to the original story — which includes disclaimers that make clear the story is fake, for those who click through and read — has evidently tricked some Facebook users.
For example, the story was shared in a Facebook group honoring Fox News host Tucker Carlson, where many commenters derided the false story as if it were real. One claimed the supposed proposal was part of the Bidens’ “socialist demands,” and another said it was an “effort to sway Hispanic votes.”
Jill Biden, who holds a doctorate in education, has taught English at a community college and recently told CBS News that she plans to continue teaching if her husband is elected president.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.
Sources
“About Us.” Tatersgonnatate.com. Accessed 3 Sep 2020.
“Dr. Jill Biden: ‘All Americans Will Be Required to Learn Spanish When We Win’.” Tatersgonnatate.com. 20 Aug 2020.
“Dr. Jill Biden on family, teaching, loss and levity.” CBS News. 9 Aug 2020.
Saslow, Eli. “‘Nothing on this page is real’: How lies become truth in online America.” Washington Post. 17 Nov 2018.