Fake Jefferson on Rebellion
Dr. Kelli Ward, the head of the Republican Party in Arizona, tweeted an image with the quote, “When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.” But Jefferson never made that quip.
Fact checkers have found the quote attributed to Jefferson throughout the 20th century, sometimes using “injustice” in place of the word “tyranny.” But it doesn’t seem to appear anywhere earlier than that. Given that Jefferson died in the 19th century, it’s extremely unlikely he said this unless he invented time travel. And if that’s the case we’ve got an entirely new problem to confront that makes fake quotes on the internet a very minor issue.
