On Gavin Newsom: It was an intentional and premeditated lie spread by the same paid MAGA influencer and bot network

[applegrove]

It wasn’t a “claim” though. It was an intentional and premeditated lie spread by the same paid MAGA influencer and bot network that does this stuff daily.

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2026-02-24T00:04:50.900Z

[Scrivener7]

1. Yep. And it wasn't even close to what he said. Wiz Imp had the actual quote.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21041465

“I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you; I’m like you. I’m no better than you. You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy, you know, and I’m not trying to offend anyone, you know, trying to act all-there if you got 940- But literally a 960 SAT guy, I cannot- you’ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read (pauses) a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.

[applegrove]

4. Thanks.

[Scrivener7]

5. Can you believe the gall of these people?

[applegrove]

7. Unfortunately a lie will make it 1/2 way around the world

by the time the truth gets its shoes on. Galling is one way of putting it.... morally dead is another.

[Lovie777]

2. He's my governor..............

[Scrivener7]

3. And PS: Where is OUR bot network??

[W_HAMILTON]

10. It seems to be attacking Democrats as well because they, like MAGA, view us as the enemy.

[Scrivener7]

12. What are you talking about?

[W_HAMILTON]

17. There are bots, among others on social media, that attack from the left...

...but they often attack Democrats as much as they do MAGA fascists...

[Scrivener7]

26. Oh. That again.

[senseandsensibility]

6. Guess who else was pushing it?

Scott Jennings. I know how popular he is here. Yes, this is definitely a rightwing smear.

[PeaceWave]

8. And, sadly, it got past our alert system here on DU - multiple times.

[Scrivener7]

9. Damn.

[betsuni]

11. But ... but ... but ... "Constructive criticism" or some such bullshit.

[Polly Hennessey]

15. I noticed that.

[Swede]

30. It sure did.

nt

[yardwork]

31. I noticed.

[Kingofalldems]

13. And spread right here on DU.

I would hope admins would take that thread down.

[Scrivener7]

14. I tried.

[usonian]

16. Usonian nails it once again! 🔨🔨🔨🔨🔨🔨🔨🔨

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21041432
That YOU was a lie.
I knows my trolls. It's not lightly said that I am "The Mad Prophet of the Internet"

sometimes.

copied below:
-----------------------------------
In fairness, that quote was blind.

Translation: pulled out of someone's ass.

Gavin didn't say that. Who did?

Gov. Newsom to a black crowd in GA: "I am like you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. I can't read."

Saying "you" without qualifying who "you" are could be amplifying RW trolls.

Please qualify it or get alerted.

Accuracy matters here, even if nowhere else on earth. Saying "you" can be inclusive but most often isn't. Depends on who you EXACTLY are.
---------------------------------------------

[lostincalifornia]

20. and yet the OP is not self-deleted even though it has been pointed out by several in that thread how the social media

post was an intentional misrepresentation of what happened.

[usonian]

25. I threatened to alert on it. Been too busy with this "real world" stuff.

I wonder if anyone has? But even when OP's get deleted, the threads stay up, based on stale or refuted info.

I don't recall any entire threads here being taken down in their entirety, though I have seen some Hacker News threads disappear.

I'm not keeping count.

Though I'll reiterate that I trust zero "social media" posts, and will either look for a reasonable source, or let the mods and users at Hacker News filter out rubbish for me. I get a lot of good ideas there and share them here, but only one in 100 or 200 make the jump.

That's why these two forums are so valuable.

[Scrivener7]

28. I tried.

[Scrivener7]

27. That OP often posts about things that Democratic leaders never did

but that concern him greatly.

Luckily, they're not training them well and he's totally transparent.

[angrychair]

18. While, yes, the story being told is false

Let's just get this part out of the way first so I can't have my intentions misinterpreted:
In full disclosure Newsom is NOT my pick for president and I freely admit I will fight for almost anyone else but him in the primary process.
That said, to be clear: if Newsom wins the primary I will support him and vote for him.
Now that is out of the way...
The words he said and who he was saying it to still make this very rough around the edges and a bit unseemly in my opinion.

I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you; I’m like you. I’m no better than you. You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy, you know, and I’m not trying to offend anyone, you know, trying to act all-there if you got 940- But literally a 960 SAT guy,

The person he said that to was Andre Dickens, the Black mayor of Atlanta.

So, I freely admit that some would not find that racist, while others might.

Why would I say that?

Because the implications is that he did poorly on his SAT and unless he knows him well seems like a odd assumption. Not only that he did poorly but also because he might not be that smart. Also a bit of an odd assumption. The statement sounded a little condescending to be honest. At least in my opinion.

Also to be clear, he kind of walked into a field of landmines. Here is the rub with standardized tests like the SAT: historically standardized tests have had a tendency to test Blacks and Latinos poorly due to a white centric lean in word problem creation and literary references. Another significant factor is typically, due to systemic racism and redlining, people that live in poorer areas have fewer educational resources and poorer educational outcomes and therefore, on average, poorer outcomes on standardized tests than white people from primarily white suburban areas. That isn't my opinion but supported by years of peer-reviewed scientific studies.

While I'm willing to admit maybe that wasn't his intention, it's still not a good look when examined in context. Mistakes like these can be overcome but we need candidates that think before they speak and not become fodder for some ignorant racist's podcast.
Tried to give several references to show I'm not trying to denigrate anyone but have an honest discussion as to why some might see things a different way and might see the comment as racist or a little tone deaf.
References:
https://theatlantavoice.com/testing-bias-black-students/

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/racist-beginnings-standardized-testing

https://wordinblack.com/2024/02/culturally-blind-standardized-tests-more-like-culturally-biased/

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1473284.pdf

[PeaceWave]

21. Yeah. Nope. Don't see it. I think you might find more who agree with you in the other thread.

[betsuni]

22. Dickens: "We don't need anyone to tell us when to be offended. And history has shown ... when we are, you'll know."

[pinkstarburst]

33. I don't see it

I also feel it's unfortunate that some are quick to try to take out leaders like Newsom for statements that could possibly be misconstrued in a less than great light if you really work for it, while completely ignoring other politicians who have made much worse statements.

Jasmine Crockett has made ableist statements insulting and mocking paraplegics. I am curious why there is such backlash from some people here on DU against Newsom, but I'm not seeing those same people speak out and say that Jasmine Crockett needs to publicly apologize for her offensive, ableist remarks that mock the disabled community.

Feels like a double standard.

Curious to know how you feel about that and if you also feel Jasmine needs to publicly apologize.

[angrychair]

36. Honestly

I think Crockett needs to apologize for a lot more than that.

My reason for focusing on Newsom in this particular situation, and the difference between the two, is that it's no secret that Newsom intends to run for president and that deserves extra focus. if I had my choice it wouldn't be him. Again, I'll vote for him if he is our official candidate but he is not my first or even second choice.

[Renew Deal]

35. The misinformation continues

[lostincalifornia]

19. What is unfortunate is how some people accept anything posted on social media without question. Just looking at

Governor Newsom's record should be the first clue that something doesn't sync up.

This has been the modus operandi of the right wing for some time to do anything to try and divide Democrats.

It was done with Al Franken, Hillary, Biden, Harris, etc.

This is not to say we shouldn't be critical when Democrats do objectionable things, but we should also not blindly accept things that seem contrary to what we know about something.

[SunImp]

23. Yes

It was done with Al Franken, Hillary, Biden, Harris, etc.

Don't forget many Progressive caucus members, Anti-Ice & Anti-war protestors have also been smeared or snipped out of context by dishonest people hiding out in shady corners possibly using bots or by pretending to be protestors to inflame tensions. & I'm sure we all know how "trustworthy" Official state accounts/sources are about anything going on right now.

[DFW]

24. So true: "not blindly accept..."

Doing exactly that brought a tragedy of International proportions (Hillary 2016) and another of national proportions (Al Franken 2017). In Al’s case, Roger Stone counted on people not knowing the difference between “came forward” and “were brought forward.” He won that bet, and five of the Democratic Senators he hoodwinked STILL had the gall to run for president in 2020 (Warren, Booker, Harris, Gillibrand and Sanders), none of which got the nomination, which spared me a dilemma that year, although that (the nomination of Biden) had been my prediction anyway.

[pinkstarburst]

29. They're going to keep doing this, y'all

Republicans can't be happy about polling that shows him beating Vance. Right now he's getting a lot of attention ahead of 2028. He may not be the nominee, but expect them to try to take him out because they are AFRAID. We can't get distracted and divided by their lies.

[yardwork]

32. I wish people would show more discretion.

[betsuni]

34. And when Democrats are bashed because of a negative headline, lie, prediction of doom, assumption of

doing nothing or being like Republicans, diabolical ulterior motives, on and on, objecting to this results in being targeted with personal attacks too.

Don't buy what they're selling!