Sharing fake inspirational quotes is sex wth stranger videoa pretty pervasive thing on the internet. It's easy to ignore and laugh off -- at least until a high-ranking elected official posts a misattributed quote for all to see.
SEE ALSO: The Origins of the Word 'Meme'In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared the following tweet, featuring a quote wrongly attributed to late U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Abbott, a Republican, shared what he thinks is a quote about fascism by one of history's great leaders, presumably looking to take part of the ongoing online argument over fascists, anti-fascists, and the state of our modern politics. The tweet had been retweeted nearly 1,500 times as of 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday but was deleted shortly thereafter.
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But turns out, the quote's been thoroughly debunked as a Churchill quip and is instead attributed to former Louisiana Senator Huey Long. And even thenit's difficult to find any concrete evidence of the quote's veracity.
Twitter was, as always, quick to jump on Abbott's mistake, mocking the image source (viral GIF and photo site 9GAG is hardly an authority on historical accuracy) and making up their own versions of Abbott's gaffe.
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Here's hoping Abbott learns from his mistake and spends less time on Reddit.