The false quote was included in an article published by The New York Daily News on August 6, 2019 titled "Mitch McConnell campaign says boys will be boys after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasts TeamMitch over disturbing groping pic" (archived here) which opened:
AOC says #TeamMitch is a bunch of dangerous perverts -- but his campaign literally says boys will be boys.
The liberal lightning rod is demanding Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) take action after campaign supporters were pictured groping and insulting a cardboard cut-out model of her.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Mitch McConnell campaign says boys will be boys after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasts TeamMitch over disturbing groping pic
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is demanding Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) take action after campaign supporters were pictured groping and insulting a cardboard cut-out model of her.
The controversy began after the photo was tweeted on August 5, 2019 by a New York woman using the handle "feminist next door."
Pictured: seven young white men in "Team Mitch" T-shirts, gathered round a distressed looking cardboard @AOC, groping and kissing her. The caption, "break me off a piece of that."
-- feminist next door (@emrazz) August 5, 2019
Future federal judges of America. pic.twitter.com/t877J7Pcye
The "future federal judges" comment may have been included because the Team Mitch Instagram account also shared a photo of several of the same teen boys holding up cardboard heads of judges and a justice confirmed by the senate under McConnell's leadership:
Ocasio-Cortez soon retweeted the photo, with the added message:
Hey @senatemajldr - these young men look like they work for you.
Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping & choking members of Congress w/ your payroll, or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch?
Hey @senatemajldr - these young men look like they work for you.
-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2019
Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping & choking members of Congress w/ your payroll, or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch?
Thanks. https://t.co/ysRJuwonUx
McConnell senate campaign manager Kevin Golden issued a statement in response to Ocasio-Cortez which read:
We've watched for years as the far-left and the media look for every possible way to demonize, stereotype, and publicly castigate every young person who dares to get involved with Republican politics.
These young men are not campaign staff, they're high schoolers and it's incredible that the national media has sought to once again paint a target on their backs rather than report real, and significant news in our country. Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life sized cardboard cut outs of any gender in a manner similar to what we saw from President Obama's speechwriting staff several years ago.
McConnell campaign responds to @AOC criticism of this pic: "Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life sized cardboard cut outs of any gender in a manner similar to what we saw from Pres Obama's speechwriting staff several years ago" pic.twitter.com/TH8IzUcWNN
-- Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) August 6, 2019
The Daily Beast published a story on August 6, 2019 titled "McConnell Campaign Responds to Viral Photo of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Cutout Being Groped." The website promoted the story in a tweet that read "Mitch McConnell's campaign manager essentially says boys will be boys in response to that image of teens groping and choking a cutout of @AOC."
Mitch McConnell's campaign manager essentially says boys will be boys in response to that image of teens groping and choking a cutout of @AOC https://t.co/kRrAKUkf60
-- The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 6, 2019
The 'boys will be boys" phrase was an interpretation by writer Shira Feder, who concluded Golden's statement "essentially" said that:
After Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for a photo posted on Facebook of a group of young men wearing "Team Mitch" shirts shown choking and groping a cardboard cutout of the Democratic congresswoman, the Senate majority leader's campaign manager initially responded by saying, in essence, boys will be boys. The campaign ultimately ended up condemning the image as "demeaning."
But Rep. Ocasio-Cortez picked up the phrase and shared it on her Twitter account as if it was a direct quote from Team Mitch:
Boys will be boys."
Is that also the reason why you've chosen to block the Violence Against Women act too, @senatemajldr?
It prevents dating partners w/ records of abuse + stalking women (also an early warning sign from many mass shooters) from obtaining a gun.
"Boys will be boys."
-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2019
Is that also the reason why you've chosen to block the Violence Against Women act too, @senatemajldr?
It prevents dating partners w/ records of abuse + stalking women (also an early warning sign from many mass shooters) from obtaining a gun. https://t.co/shWCRmEv60
This tweet led to other media outlets attributing the "boys will be boys" phrase to McConnell's campaign.
This Lead Stories article is not intended to weigh in on the whether the actual statement from McConnell's manager was appropriate, but we can conclude that some of the media coverage was inaccurate.
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According to NewsGuard the site can generally be trusted to maintain journalistic standards. Read their full assessment here.
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