As the youngest female Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a target among conservative trolls. In addition to circulating fake nude photos on the internet and falsely labeling her a socialist, there has been a ton of misinformation being reported on the Green New Deal. Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal covers a large number of issues from climate change and renewable energy to guaranteeing citizens have jobs that offer a salary they can actually live off of. As soon as the Green New Deal document was released, a ton of false information began circulating on the internet making some of the most ridiculous claims. Here’s all of the fake news going around on Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal.
Recycle Male Urine
A fake document was circulating on the internet where a provision on recycling urine was added. The addition claimed that preparing large volumes of drinking water for Americans uses a tremendous amount of energy, so to reduce this, men (yes, only men) should take the following steps:
(1) Males should urinate into an empty milk jug instead of a toilet.
(2) let the jug of urine sit in open sunlight for at least six hours for sanitation.
(3)Use this recycled urine in place of water when brewing coffee or preparing frozen juice, as theleft over “pee” taste will be covered up by other natural flavors.
Assuming that the document only asks that men do this because they have better aim, I can’t help but wonder if women would have to drink this coffee made from male urine also. Would men sell their “sanitized” urine to single women so they could make their morning coffee? Or would women be forced to partake in target practice? (I’m overthinking this.) It wasn’t long before this fake addition to the Green New Deal went viral. The faux document was ultimately traced back to YouTube conspiracy theorist Mark Dice who wanted to see if he could get Americans and the media to actually believe this nonsense. It worked, and a number of media outlets shared the image without labeling it as satire.
Ban On Cows, Cars, And Plane Travel
After a preliminary version of the Green New Deals FAQ sheet was accidentally released on Ocasio-Cortez’s website, reports started flying about the plan wanting to eliminate cows, planes, and cars. Even though the FAQ sheet doesn’t align with what is actually said in the official document, it wasn’t long before reports started circulating about a ban on fossil fuels. Here’s exactly what this section of the now removed FAQ sheet said:
Why 100% clean and renewable and not just 100% renewable? Are you saying we won’t transition off fossil fuels?
Yes, we are calling for a full transition off fossil fuels and zero greenhouse gases. Anyone who has read the resolution sees that we spell this out through a plan that calls for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from every sector of the economy. Simply banning fossil fuels immediately won’t build the new economy to replace it – this is the plan to build that new economy and spells out how to do it technically. We do this through a huge mobilization to create the renewable energy economy as fast as possible. We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast, but we think we can ramp up renewable manufacturing and power production, retrofit every building in America, build the smart grid, overhaul transportation and agriculture, plant lots of trees and restore our ecosystem to get to net-zero.
While the language seems to be more casual, it doesn’t say anything about banning the use of planes, cars, and umm, cows. Instead, it says that we won’t be able to get rid of these things, which is why the Green New Deal aims for net-zero rather than zero emissions. Net-zero means that no additional greenhouse gases are being released into the environment and is determined by measuring the
Jobs For Those Unwilling To Work
Part of the Green New Deal is economic justice and security that would potentially guarantee a living wage for every working American as well as healthcare, vacation time, and retirement security. While official document goes into this in great detail, a miswording in the accidentally released FAQ sheet has raised some eyebrows. The bullet point that has inspired fake news reports
Economic security for all who are unable or unwilling to work
For obvious reasons, this wording has created some issues within the media, especially among those who are against socialist policies. Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti responded to the fake news reports reminding people that the FAQ sheet that was originally released was “…clearly unfinished and doesn’t represent the GND resolution…” Ocasio-Cortez also responded to all of the fake reports surrounding her Green New Deal in a tweet that read:
There are multiple doctored GND resolutions and FAQs floating around. There was also a draft version that got uploaded + taken down. There’s also draft versions floating out there.
Ocasio-Cortez also shared a link to the submitted resolution so people can see for themselves the real document and form their own opinions without the conservative media’s lies getting in the way.
A Military Ban
Looking back at Trump’s tweet about the Green New Deal, along with cows and planes, he thinks Ocasio-Cortez’s plan is to eliminate the military. This, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the Green New Deal resolution doesn’t even mention the military, nor does the incomplete FAQ sheet that was prematurely released. The confusion may have come from another proposal formed by the Green Party that calls for cutting military spending and happens to also go by the title “Green New Deal.” Their name is the only similarity between the two proposals though.
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