Republican House Leader Steve Scalise Flagged For Posting Doctored Video Of Democratic Activist


House Minority Whip Steve Scalise posted a now-deleted video on Twitter that was flagged for doctoring the voice of Democratic activist Ady Barkan. Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, put the post on his Twitter page on Saturday morning. It showed clips of statements from political leaders interspersed with images of protests and riots from across the country.

In one clip, Barkan spoke with former Vice President Joe Biden, where they discussed the idea of shifting some law enforcement funding to better address the challenges facing the nation.

The piece ended with Scalise’s name and title over a black screen.

Versha Sharma, the senior correspondent and managing editor for NowThis News, reached out to Scalise via Twitter to let him know that the clip had been altered.

Twitter subsequently flagged the video as manipulated media with a link to a page that explains that Barkan, who speaks with voice assistance after losing the ability to speak to his battle with ALS, didn’t say what Scalise’s version claims he did. But a digitized voice said the altered phrase over the face of Barkan.

Specifically, the activist never said the phrase “funding for police,” which was apparently added by the individual who made the clip.

“The source of the original video comes from an interview between Ady Barkan and Joe Biden that was published by NowThis News, splicing in the phrase ‘for police.'”

Barkan himself posted and said that while he may have lost the ability to speak, he was aware that the exact language that they attributed to him was inaccurate. He admonished Scalise to remove the post and to apologize to the disabled community for his actions.

“These are not my words. I have lost my ability to speak, but not my agency or my thoughts. You and your team have doctored my words for your own political gain,” he wrote.

Scalise defended the alternation and wrote that it better captured the essence of what Barkin and Biden were speaking about.

“Twice in one interview Biden says ‘yes’ & ‘yes absolutely’ to questions about ‘redirecting’ police funding. Dems & their partners in the media want to blame ‘editing’ to pretend this isn’t exactly what he believes,” he wrote.

Twitter has been ramping up its policing of political rhetoric on its site in recent weeks. A post from President Donald Trump claiming ballot drop boxes were vulnerable to fraud and potential conveyors of disease was recently flagged by the social media giant.

Share this article: Republican House Leader Steve Scalise Flagged For Posting Doctored Video Of Democratic Activist
More from Inquisitr