Liz Cheney didn't call Trump and Biden 'junkyard hog' and 'the older guy' | Fact check

The claim: Image shows Liz Cheney called Trump a ‘junkyard hog’ and Biden ‘the older guy’ in an X post

A July 17 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a post from former Rep. Liz Cheney on X, formerly Twitter.

“Let’s be clear, if you don’t want to live the next 20 years under the rule of the Redneck SS being led by an insecure junkyard hog you’re going to have to vote for the older guy,” the screenshot reads.

The Threads post was shared more than 1,000 times in less than a week.

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Our rating: Altered

The image is fabricated. Cheney didn't write such a post, and telltale clues like a misspelling and a nonsensical date show it isn't real. The earliest version included a parody label at the bottom.

'Liz_Choney' is phony – neither the account nor the post is real

The purported screenshot presumably refers to former President Donald Trump as the "junkyard hog" and President Joe Biden as "the older guy." While Cheney, a former Republican Rep. from Wyoming, has been an outspoken critic of Trump and was vice chair on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, the post attributed to her isn't real.

One telltale sign is that the X username in the screenshot is @Liz_Choney, a misspelling of Cheney’s last name. Her real handle is @Liz_Cheney. An X search did not turn up an account called @Liz_Choney.

The screenshot in the Threads post is also cropped. What appears to be the earliest version of this post, from an X account called @FaithRubPol, includes the word “parody” at the bottom of the post. It also shows the date as "Feb. 116," another sign it's not legitimate.

@FaithRubPol states in its account bio that most of the images shared on the page are parodies. It is not clear if the account itself created the “Liz Choney” image.

It’s an example of what could be called “stolen satire,” where images created as satire and presented that way originally are captured and reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

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USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• @Liz_Cheney, accessed July 18, X page

• @FaithRubPol, July 16, X post (archived)

• Faith Back Rub, accessed July 18, X account (archived)

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fabricated Liz Cheney post about Trump, Biden | Fact check