The claim that U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a “Drag Queen Initiative” that would outlaw “public criticizing pedophiles” originated on a satirical Twitter account. No such order was signed by the president, although some online were duped into thinking that the claim was legitimate.
The original tweet was posted by an account @USMiniTru on July 26, 2022 and reads: “BREAKING: President Biden signs the "Drag Queen Initiative" Publicly criticizing pedophiles will now be considered a federal offense” (here).
One user shared a screenshot of the tweet with a caption that reads: “So when is enough? How far are they going to push us?” (here).
Another user who shared a screenshot on Facebook said: “It would be funny if it was a joke” (here).
An individual who also shared a screenshot of the claim to Facebook said: “This is a really sad day.....” (here).
Other examples of the claim shared online can be found (here), (here), (here) and (here).
The claim originated from an account that regularly posts clearly satirical content (twitter.com/USMiniTru). It calls itself “U.S. Ministry of Truth”.
No such press release was published by The White House (here) nor did Reuters find any news outlet reporting that Biden had signed any such order.
A Twitter advanced search via Biden’s official Twitter accounts and the White House official profile did not reveal any mention of the purported order (archive.ph/wip/ot9P9).
The image of Biden viewable beneath the claim dates back to February 21, 2022, when the president signed an executive order to prohibit trade and investment between U.S. individuals and two regions of eastern Ukraine recognized as independent by Russia (here).
Comparing or associating LGBTQ people with pedophilia is a false and harmful trope that has been called out and disproved repeatedly (here), (here).
VERDICT
False. The claim that President Biden signed the “Drag Queen Initiative” originated via a satirical Twitter account.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
