DCCC - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

10/22/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/22/2021 15:01

VA Urges Veterans to Ignore Dangerous Disinformation After Rep. Miller-Meeks Pushes Fake News Story About Veterans’ Benefits

Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital : "There is nothing funny about spreading false stories of stripping our heroes of their hard-earned benefits."

In case you missed it, Mariannette Miller-Meeks' irresponsible decision to promote COVID-19 disinformation - falsely claiming unvaccinated veterans would lose their health benefits - is having dangerous and lasting reverberations in misleading veterans.

Today, a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Georgia shared emergency guidance urging people to stop sharing the disinformation, saying, "There is nothing funny about spreading false stories of stripping our heroes of their hard-earned benefits."

But despite the confusion and concern it's caused for veterans in Iowa and across the country, Miller-Meeks still won't take down her tweet and apologize for lying to those who have served our country.

"It's despicable that Mariannette Miller-Meeks is willing to spread COVID-19 conspiracies far and wide even when it means lying to veterans and creating confusion about their benefits," said DCCC spokesperson Elena Kuhn. "She should apologize and set the record straight immediately."

READ MORE BELOW:

Stars and Stripes: 'It's sick': VA alerts veterans to false article about Biden withholding benefits

By Nikki Wentling

  • A Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Georgia sent an emergency email alert Friday about a false news story on a satirical site that veterans are misconstruing as true.

  • The false article states President Joe Biden ordered the VA to withhold health care benefits from veterans who refuse to receive coronavirus vaccines. The story was published by DelawareOhioNews.com, which describes itself as a satire and parody entertainment website.

  • The Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Ga., issued an email alert Friday to inform veterans that the article is not true.

  • "It's sick," the email reads. "There is nothing funny about spreading false stories of stripping our heroes of their hard-earned benefits."

  • The false article was posted online in September. It was shared widely after a Republican lawmaker from Iowa, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, tweeted about it. Along with a link to the story, she tweeted: "If true, this is insane!"

  • As of Friday, Miller-Meeks tweet had not been deleted, despite the story being marked as satire.

  • In a legal statement on its website, DelawareOhioNews.com states "all stories herein are parodies (satire, fiction, fake, not real) of people and/or actual events."

  • The VA urged people Friday to stop sharing the false article.

  • "The president has not and will not withhold benefits to veterans who choose not to be vaccinated," said Terrence Hayes, the VA press secretary. "The spread of this misinformation is extremely detrimental to our veterans and their families and should cease immediately."

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