FACT-CHECK: AP Fact-Check Does Not Show Nazi Sign at Lockdown Protest Was Fake (UPDATED)
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images
An Associated Press article has been updated several times to clarify that it does not debunk the already-infamous Nazi slogan protest sign from an Illinois anti-lockdown rally this week. Instead, it debunks a Tweet, since deleted, that featured a sign from a Pittsburgh protest, that was altered to show an English translation of the Nazi slogan.
Mediaite is updating our post now to reflect the updates and clarifications from the AP.
On Friday, a registered nurse named Dennis Kosuth shared a photo of a woman holding a sign that said “Arbeit Macht Frei,” which translates to “Work sets you free” and was a slogan used at Nazi concentration camps.
Kosuth wrote “This was one of the signs at the ‘Re-open Illinois’ event today. She assured those that she was not a Nazi, and stated, ‘I have Jewish friends.’ Thank you for representing yourself and your ‘movement’ for what it is.”
This was one of the signs at the “Re-open Illinois” event today. She assured those that she was not a Nazi, and stated, “I have Jewish friends.” Thank you for representing yourself and your “movement” for what it is. pic.twitter.com/CcIX2SVu6s
— Dennis Kosuth, RN (@Dennis_Kosuth) May 1, 2020
The AP reported that a doctored image of the Nazi slogan went viral on Friday. Both a doctored photo from a Pittsburgh protest, and the un-doctored photo from the Illinois protest, were shared widely on Friday, in fact, with the actual photo of the sign featuring the German phrase going far wider.
This from today is disgusting. @GovPritzker’s family came to America to avoid the killing of Jews in Eastern Europe. Arbeit macht frei is German for "work sets you free" & is known for appearing at entrance of Nazi concentration camps.
Ignorance? Hate? Both?
Just disgusting. pic.twitter.com/1BlyKQh6Gw— Andy Manar (@AndyManar) May 2, 2020
The AP fact-check of the doctored Pittsburgh protest photo has itself gone viral among Twitter users attempting to claim that it debunks the Illinois photo, which it does not.
On Friday night, Nurse Kosuth was asked if the image was photoshopped, based on that confusion, and he said “I took it with my own phone, I can’t make this up, this is actually the sad state some people exist in.”
I took it with my own phone, I can’t make this up, this is actually the sad state some people exist in
— Dennis Kosuth, RN (@Dennis_Kosuth) May 2, 2020
And Kosuth also posted the image to his Facebook page, where he also shared video from the protest.
Confederate flags and signs bearing Nazi slogans and imagery have been documented at other anti-lockdown protests as well.
The AP story has been updated to specify that they were not referencing the Illinois photo. We have updated our post to reflect their clarifications, which we assume were undertaken as a result of our having pointed it out.
UPDATE:
"Arbeit macht frei" was a false, cynical illusion the SS gave to prisoners of #Auschwitz. Those words became one of the icons of human hatred. It's painful to see this symbol instrumentalized & used again to spread hate. It's a symptom of moral & intellectual degeneration. https://t.co/ZRxja8x6eS
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) May 2, 2020
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