Video shows Kennedy talking flood control, not revealing 'laundering scheme' | Fact check
The claim: Video shows Sen. John Kennedy reveal 'laundering scheme'
A Facebook video shows Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, questioning Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon and speaking about a flood control project.
"'LET ME SHOW YOU' Watch Biden Witness STUNNED After Senator Kennedy REVEALS 'Laundering Scheme,'" reads the video's caption in the May 3 post (direct link, archive link).
The video was shared more than a hundred times in less than a week.
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Our rating: False
No one in this video reveals a "laundering scheme." The video shows Kennedy questioning Spellmon about costs and cost-benefit analyses of flood control projects. He also talks about the impacts of a particular flood control project.
No 'laundering scheme' reveal in video
The exchange between Kennedy and Spellmon took place at a Senate committee hearing in April.
The exchange is consistent with Spellmon's role as head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The video provides no evidence to support the claim of a "laundering scheme."
This style of misinformation, in which a misleading caption is paired with a legitimate video, is called "false framing," Mike Caulfield, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, previously told Paste BN.
While the caption is obviously wrong if someone watches the entire video, “the majority of people scroll past these with the sound off," Caulfield said. “The fact it autoplays silently makes it engaging, without undermining the (inaccurate) framing.”
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The Facebook user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.
Our fact-check sources:
- U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, April 26, A Review of the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation
- Mike Caulfield, Oct. 18, Email exchange with Paste BN
- Paste BN, Nov. 4, 2022, Fact check: Video shows House GOP criticizing Jan. 6 committee, not laughing at Liz Cheney
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