Fact check: Planned Parenthood parody account shared tweet promoting 'white privilege' donations

The claim: Planned Parenthood encouraged 'white privilege' donations

Social media users are sharing an image they claim shows a tweet from Planned Parenthood encouraging Caucasians to donate to minority groups.

A Dec. 4 Facebook post (direct link, archived link) features the supposed tweet, which offers a solution for those burdened by "white privilege."

"Are you Caucasian and would like to use your white privilege to do good?" the tweet reads. "If you visit our website, you can add a note to your donation that specifically requests that your donations are used to help minority groups access abortion. Show that you care on this Giving Tuesday.”

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

The post garnered more than 100 likes in five days. A similar version of the post garnered more than 600 likes in four days on Facebook before the user changed the caption to label it as satire. Similar iterations have also been shared on Instagram.

But the claim is false. The tweet was shared by a parody account, which has since been suspended. A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood confirmed the organization didn't publish the tweet.

The user who shared the claim didn't provide any evidence to support it when contacted by USA TODAY.

Tweet was shared by parody account

The supposed Planned Parenthood tweet originated from an account that has since been suspended.

"Parody," read the account's bio when it was still active. "Yeah yeah, I know. What I said was way too close to the truth. It’s hard to tell the difference. Blah blah. You were bamboozled lmao.”

The account's tagged location was "Not Planned Parenthood."

Fact check: No clinics have closed since Roe v. Wade overturned, Planned Parenthood says

While the parody account's Twitter handle was @PP_ofAmerica, the real organization's handle is @PPFA.

The image is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where posts shared as satire and presented that way originally are captured via screenshot and reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

Melanie Roussell Newman, a Planned Parenthood spokesperson, told USA TODAY via email that the tweet was not shared by her organization.

“The messages posted from this fake social media account are not affiliated with the organization and do not reflect Planned Parenthood’s values,” Newman said.

This claim was debunked by the Associated Press as well.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Planned Parenthood encouraged "white privilege" donations. The tweet was shared by a parody account, which has since been suspended. A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood confirmed the organization didn't publish the tweet.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Parody account responsible for Planned Parenthood tweet