Let this be a reminder to always fact check your Hillary Clinton quotes.
Since 2012, Internet users have been attributing a quote to Hillary Clinton that originally appeared in an article written about her — not by her.
According to Jezebel managing editor Erin Gloria Ryan, an excerpt from her May 2012 piece about Clinton and her makeup choices has wound up on memes and in posts to Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr as if it was spoken by Hillary.
The quote reads:
Until now, Ryan has shrugged off the misrepresentation of her quote as Hillary’s words by random people on the Internet. But then Madonna tweeted an image of the quote Sunday — attributed to “Hilary Clinton” — in recognition of International Women’s Day.
Repost! Thank you Hilary Clinton! Happy International Womens Day! ❤️ #rebelheart pic.twitter.com/pPBCrK4fon
— Madonna (@Madonna) March 8, 2015
Oops. In response, Ryan penned an article Tuesday entitled, “Dear Madonna: I Am Not ‘Hilary Clinton,’ and Hillary Didn’t Write That,” in which she details the misquotation saga. She writes:
Ironically, Madonna herself fell victim to Internet theft just weeks ago, and now she’s the one stealing one person’s work and giving it to another.
Madonna has yet to address the issue on social media, but when she does, undoubtedly she’d hashtag it #rebelheart.
