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K-Pop fans hijack right wing hashtag attempting to smear AOC’s account of Capitol riot

K-Pop fans hijack right wing hashtag attempting to smear AOC’s account of Capitol riot

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has found herself being targetted by members of the USConservative and alt-right movement over accusations that she wasn't at the US Capitol building during the violent riot that took place on 6th January.

This baseless rumour was spread by notable right-wing figureheads on social media on Wednesday. It was reportedly started by far-right commentator Jack Posobiec, who shared an article from a website called RedState which accused Ocasio-Cortez of not being at the Capitol during the riot.

This accusation came after Ocasio-Cortez posted a lengthy video on Instagram earlier this week, where the Democratic congresswoman recounted the traumatic events of the riot. In the video, she compared the trauma she felt after the insurrection to the feeling she had after surviving sexual assault.

Many notable right-wing figures including Candance Owens, Benny Johnson and Steven Crowder began to pile on AOC and accuse her of lying. Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace also doubted her story, claiming her office is just two doors away from Ocasio-Cortez and the riots never came near her office.

Many who were abusing AOC on social media, used the hashtag #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett, a reference to the actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a hate crime against himself in 2019.

The hashtag was soon trending worldwide but in typical internet fashion many of the top tweets that used the hashtag weren't about AOC at all. Instead, it had been hijacked by K-Pop fans who were sharing pictures and gifs of their favourite singers.

Others who weren't into K-Pop used the hashtag to share pictures of their pets

Ocasio-Cortez has hit back at the claims that are being thrown at her, claiming the accusers don't understand the layout of the Capitol building and that the attack wasn't only focused on the dome. She also called out at the GOP for taking part in the attempts to discredit her.

Unfortunately, this didn't quell the alt-right's attempts to smear AOC's story. Posobiec attempted to 'fact-check' the congresswoman by sharing a map of the capitol building, which AOC highlighted the many faults in his claim.

More: An open letter to the U.S. Capitol rioters

buildingsocial mediawebsitecongresswomanus capitolusconservativejack posobiecthe movementalexandria ocasio-cortez
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