Right-Wing Amplifies Lie That Pete Buttigieg is HIV-Positive
Whether they believed the parody account's Buttigieg claim or not, most users replied to it with remarks that disparaged gay people.
Right-wing influencers are gleefully spreading a lie from a “parody” troll account claiming that Pete Buttigieg is HIV-positive.
The initial post, from October 1, read, “BREAKING: Pete Buttigieg reveals that he is HIV-positive.” The post included a shot of Buttigieg but did not link to a story or any sources to substantiate the claim.
The post has received more than 1.1. views, been liked more than 2,100 times, and has been reposted over 900 times.
The author, “Breaking 911,” made it clear that his posts are parody and not to be taken seriously.
Breaking 911’s bio reads, in part, “Pounded a twink or six million. The king of the gays. Parody artist. If you fell for my bait, you owe me eight dollars.”
Breaking 911’s other headlines, also posted without links to external sources, include assertions that former President Donald Trump had filed for divorce from Melania, citing infidelity; Fox News personality Sean Hannity had been arrested for drunk driving; Pope Francis had resigned from the papacy; and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance spat on his hands before shaking hands with Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.
There is no evidence to suggest that any of those claims are true.
Replies to the Buttigieg post mocked the gay Transportation Secretary, with several users posting GIFs of people laughing. Others asserted that gays are sick, depraved, or pedophiles. It is sometimes unclear whether users believed the charge or whether they were just commenting and reposting due to their hatred of the political Left, gays, or Buttigieg.
“How about monkeypox?” one user wrote, including a graphic showing Buttigieg smiling next to a cartoon of men engaging in a sex act known as “running a train” on someone and a picture of him frowning next to a picture of an actual train.
How about Monkeypox? pic.twitter.com/qP28FVhEEp
— dr. retard (@DoctorRetardPhD) October 1, 2024
“How does one get HIV while in a committed relationship?” asked dcnh, who appeared to believe the post to be truthful.
How does one get HIV while in a committed relationship?
— dcnh (@dcnh42) October 2, 2024
“Shocking, not,” wrote user William Wallace.
Shocking, not.
— William Wallace (@WilliamWFREEDOM) October 2, 2024
“Well he’s a gay,” wrote user AbeFroman1980, adding a shrugging emoji.
Well he’s a gay🤷🏻♂️😀
— AbeFroman1980 (@froman198026360) October 2, 2024
“Wow a gay man has HIV, shocking,” wrote DoNotComply.
Wow a gay man has HIV, shocking
— DoNotComply (@larouxoxox) October 2, 2024
“Long as he doesn’t start advocating for his meds to be government subsidized I don’t care. You can have your ‘lifestyle’ just don’t expect the American public to pay for it,” wrote BasedDeer.
Long as he doesn't start advocating for his meds to be government subsidized I don't care. You can have your "lifestyle" just don't expect the American public to pay for it.
— BasedDeer (@basedyokel) October 2, 2024
“Whether or not this is true, I worry every day about the babies he adopted,” wrote LittleOnion.
Whether or not this is true, I worry every day about the babies he adopted.
— LittleOnion 🧅🇺🇸🇮🇹 (@ByedenJill) October 3, 2024
“Soon it will be discovered that those little boys he and his gay lover purchased somehow also also hiv positive,” wrote Absolutely not a bot.
Soon it will be discovered that those little boys he and his gay lover purchased somehow also also hiv positive.
— Absolutely not a bot (@axios1453) October 2, 2024
“Now test his daughter,” added “Red Guy in a Red State.”
Now test his daughter
— Red Guy In A Red State (@guy_state) October 2, 2024
Even though Breaking 911 responded to many of the posts, demanding that users send him $8 for falling for the fake headline, many X users seem to take delight in spreading the misinformation to badmouth Buttigieg.
“Today I saw a MAGA pundit credulously share a post about Sec. Pete having HIV. 500k views,” gay political strategist Tim Miller wrote in a post about how the falsehood, like other pieces of misinformation, spread rapidly on social media.
“My husbands HS friend shared an AI pic of Trump wading thru the water doing hurricane relief and asked why media wasn’t covering,” Miller added. “Pretty concerning view into MAGA info space pre-election.”
Today I saw a MAGA pundit credulously share a post about Sec. Pete having HIV. 500k views. My husbands HS friend shared an AI pic of Trump wading thru the water doing hurricane relief and asked why media wasn’t covering. Pretty concerning view into MAGA info space pre-election
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 2, 2024
Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten, urged his followers on social media to double down on efforts to elect Democrats to public office due to the Republican base’s embrace of misinformation and extremism.
Commenting on Miller’s post, Chasten Buttigieg wrote, “This is not how you win hearts and minds. Stay the course, folks. Keep telling your stories, having the hard conversations, and knocking doors. They’ve got lies, we’ve got momentum.”
This is not how you win hearts and minds. Stay the course, folks. Keep telling your stories, having the hard conversations, and knocking doors. They’ve got lies, we’ve got momentum. https://t.co/cj0Vvert2y
— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) October 2, 2024
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