Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s #AOCLied hashtag was hacked – but not for the reason you might think
by Jennifer McShane
04th Feb 2021
04th Feb 2021
Fans of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed their support alongside some very cute animal friends.
K-pop fans are flooding the #AOCLied hashtag on Twitter with photos and videos disrupting users and trolls who claim that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) lied about her experience of the Capitol riots.
The frankly insulting hashtag #AOCLied trended on Twitter after the Democratic congresswoman hosted an Instagram Live in which she emotionally described her experience of the Capitol Riots of January 6th and how what she went through was affected by her experience as a survivor of sexual assault.
She expressed frustration at being asked to “move on” after the attack, likening it to the refrain heard by many survivors of sexual assault. “These folks like to tell us to move on, that it’s not a big deal, that we should forget what happened, even telling us that we should apologise – these are the same tactics of abusers,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I’m a survivor of sexual assault,” she said.“And I haven’t told many people that in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other.”
The hashtag gained traction after critics claimed she had lied about aspects of her experience, including her location during the attack.
It’s because they know they are implicated, so they’re pivoting to (again) the classic abuse playbook of “it’s not as bad as they say.” It was that bad. It’s actually worse.
Shamed into silence
Just look at Evan Rachel Wood and four other women who came forward on Monday accusing Marilyn Manson of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Two of them said their experiences led to diagnoses of PTSD. The subsequent attacks all the women have come up against are revoluting in nature – with the women being targeted for daring to speak out against a powerful man with many admirers.
The subsequent creation of the hashtag is only a glimpse at the reasons survivers of sexual abuse feel they are unable to come forward. Fear of not being believed, fear of being targeted and fear of being shunned.
However, no sooner did the hashtag #AOClied begin to take off on Wednesday afternoon, than it was taken over by Ocasio-Cortez defenders posting pictures of their adorable pets.
Here are some of our favourites:
#AOClied about nothing. Here is a pic of my egg cat. pic.twitter.com/ij9XYHuDxS
— Robert Durlak (@rdurlak) February 4, 2021
#AOClied about nothing but in other news…here’s my cat pic.twitter.com/3TzCcYW7uQ
— Jenifer Martinez (@bunni_jenna) February 4, 2021
#AOClied (no she didn’t) here’s my puppies modeling! pic.twitter.com/WHGmZGsnMJ
— meadow perkins (@officialmeadowp) February 4, 2021
#AOClied when she said this isn’t the cutest cat in the world. pic.twitter.com/iFgbeYXqJD
— Reboot (@Rebootsicle) February 4, 2021
#AOClied I AM going to the VET!!! pic.twitter.com/qlEbVvWHlA
— Jay The Bison (@JayTheBison) February 4, 2021
#AOClied about nothing whatsoever and but here’s my Lucy lying down after a long day of pupping. pic.twitter.com/QmuLGtUhf1
— Brooke Forward (@misssuburbansun) February 4, 2021
Darkness does not always win. Those who speak out are braver than they may ever know and of course, K-Pop fans are the best.
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