DeSantis press secretary ‘duped’ by fake story about ‘homophobic dog’ on International Day Against Homophobia
Christina Pushaw criticised a Washington Post reporter despite story being satirical
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was allegedly “duped” into believing a false story about a “homophobic dog” on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Christina Pushaw, the press secretary, tweeted the alleged screenshot of a Washington Post article on Tuesday featuring a white dachshund and the headline: “This dog is the new face of homophobia.”
“More cutting edge journalism from the 49 year old Washington Post activist,” Ms Pushaw wrote above the screenshot.
While the photoshopped image included a byline forThe Post’s technology reporter Taylor Lorenz, it was quickly debunked by senior politics reporter Aaron Blake.
“This is not a Washington Post or TaylorLorenz story,” he said. “It’s a headline cut and pasted on to our template from another website.”
The creator of the fake story, “Chuck”, also waded in further and tweeted: “No f***ing way... It has come to my attention that Ron DeSantis’ press secretary has stolen my edit out of an inability to differentiate between satire and reality, please share your collection of dog memes under her post.”
According to LGBT Nation, the white dachshund from the “homophobic dog” article has appeared in multiple memes that appear to target LGBT+ people, but which its owners say are “satirical”.
“Through satire and this meme, we’re kind of exposing when people who just aren’t up with the times and people who aren’t very forward toward gay people,” said one of the dog’s owners, Ben Campbell, in March.
Other internet users allegedly began imposing “homophobic” statements on top of images the dog the couple shared to Instagram, with slogans poking fun at LGBT+ people such as “Whoa that’s a little bit too gay”.
Ms Pushaw, who did not appear to apologise for spreading a fake story on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, tweeted back at Mr Blake and said: “Have you tried crying about it? That might help”.
She has reportedly previously taken aim at The Post’s Ms Lorenz, who told the Daily Dot on Tuesday: “I would have assumed a press secretary could recognise the difference between a fake screenshot from a meme page and a real news story, but apparently not.”
In a statement to The Independent on Wednesday, Ms Pushaw said: “The fact that the Washington Post felt the need to ‘fact check’ a satirical meme says a lot about the credibility of the Washington Post and none of it good. WaPo journalists would be happier if they stopped taking themselves and social media so seriously.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments