Fact check: Video shows Elise Stefanik press conference, not attack on Adam Schiff

Ana Faguy, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Video shows Elise Stefanik swearing at Adam Schiff

Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, announced earlier this month that she will be seeking a second term as House GOP Conference chairwoman.

A YouTube video shared widely on Facebook claims she recently had a confrontation with Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff.

"'YOU LYING SON OF A B----' Elise Stefanik gets Up And SHUTS DOWN Schiff, get a Standing Ovation," the title of the video reads.

The July 17 video was shared to Facebook more than 150 times and viewed more than 160,000 times on YouTube. Another version of the video, posted on Sept. 12 on Facebook, was viewed more than 270,000 times in a week before it was deleted.

But the video is miscaptioned. It shows three different clips merged together, none of which show Stefanik swearing at Schiff or receiving a standing ovation.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.

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Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., introduces Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence to speak to Army 10th Mountain Division soldiers, many of whom recently returned from Afghanistan, in Fort Drum, N.Y., Jan. 17, 2021.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., introduces Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence to speak to Army 10th Mountain Division soldiers, many of whom recently returned from Afghanistan, in Fort Drum, N.Y., Jan. 17, 2021.

Video shows committee hearings, press conference

Stefanik does not swear at Schiff or receive a standing ovation at any point in the more than 14-minute YouTube video linked in the post.

While the video features three different clips merged together, Stefanik is only visible in two of the three clips and Schiff is only featured in one.

The first clip shows Stefanik speaking at a House Intelligence Committee hearing in November 2019. While Stefanik criticizes Schiff in the video over his handling of an anonymous whistleblower, she does not swear at him.

Neither Stefanik nor Schiff are in the second clip, which shows Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler discussing semi-automatic weapons at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in October 2021.

The third and final clip of the video shows Stefanik speaking at a May 2021 press conference. During the conference, she criticizes President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their "far left radical socialist policies," but she does not mention Schiff.

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Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Stefanik swearing at Schiff. The video is miscaptioned. It shows three different clips merged together, none of which show Stefanik swearing at Schiff.

Our fact-check sources:

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

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Video miscaptions Elise Stefanik remarks

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