Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
No, Ben Shapiro didn’t tweet this about Postal Service
If Your Time is short
- There's no evidence Ben Shapiro tweeted this.
Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro has recently opined about the U.S. Postal Service on Twitter, but a screenshot of a supposed recent tweet that’s being shared on social media appears to be doctored:
"The USPS is not only a bloated and outdate government agency, it is also ineffective and incompetent," it looks like Shapiro tweeted at 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 14. "It’s been 2 months since my wife went on a Hawaii vacation with her personal trainer; she said she would send me postcards every day and so far none of them have arrived."
For some people commenting on a Facebook post that shared the image, this is clearly a joke. But others weren’t so sure.
"He made a tweet to attack how inefficient the United States Postal Service is and ended up outing something at minimum very concerning and at worst incriminating about his current marriage," read one description of the image.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Searching Shapiro’s account, we couldn’t find the tweet that appears in the Facebook post.
On Aug. 14, he retweeted several accounts and he shared his own endorsement of a documentary about World War II.
As we’ve documented before, people can use websites to create images that look like real tweets that very much are not. It’s happened with President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And in this case, apparently, Shapiro.
Searching for the statement online, we found nothing to support that Shapiro said this.
We rate it False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Aug. 16, 2020
Ben Shapiro tweet, Aug. 17, 2020
Ben Shapiro tweet, Aug. 17, 2020
Ben Shapiro tweet, Aug. 14, 2020
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No, Ben Shapiro didn’t tweet this about Postal Service
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.