Fact Check Black Lives Matter Tweeted In Support Of Palestinians Not Hamas

The claim: Black Lives Matter expressed support for Hamas during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
After 11 days of military confrontation that left hundreds dead, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire following a unanimous vote from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet to end the assault in the Gaza Strip.

Activist groups and politicians in the United States and abroad have been weighing in on the conflict, with more progressive Democrats urging the Biden administration to be tougher on Israel and Netanyahu. The official Black Lives Matter Twitter account showed support for Palestinians in a May 17 tweet.

“Black Lives Matter stands in solidarity with Palestinians,” the tweet says. “We are a movement committed to ending settler colonialism in all forms and will continue to advocate for Palestinian liberation.”

Since the tweet was posted, social media users on Facebook and Instagram have spread the claim that the organization supports Hamas, a militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza. A Faith Wire article also promoted the misleading claim.

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USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook users who shared the posts for comment.

BLM tweet referenced Palestinians, not Hamas
The Black Lives Matter tweet indicates the organization’s support for Palestinians, not Hamas. Several websites have corrected their stories to reflect that fact.

One Facebook post shows a screenshot of a Daily Wire story with a headline that reads, “Black Lives Matter Declares ‘Solidarity’ With Hamas In Israel Conflict.” The headline has since been updated to say “Palestinians” instead of “Hamas.”

Another post includes a screenshot from a Fox News story with a headline that reads, “Black Lives Matter says it stands with Hamas terrorists in Israeli conflict.” The headline of that story has since been updated, and an editor’s note acknowledging the change was added to the bottom of the article.

“This report’s headline was updated to more closely reflect the Black Lives Matter tweet,” the editor’s note says.

An article from the RF Angle said Black Lives Matter “essentially” declared support for Hamas in the tweet. It has since been updated. “Black Lives Matter did not declare their “solidarity” with Hamas, they declared their “solidarity” with Palestinians. The RFAngle has changed the title to reflect this,” a note on the article says.

But, others still misrepresent the stance taken by Black Lives Matter.

The article from Faith Wire makes the oversimplification, saying the tweet “effectively” indicated the organization’s support for the militant group.

However, Black Lives Matter did not tweet in support of the Hamas militant group, but rather the Palestinian people. Those are two distinct groups.

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USA TODAY reached out to Black Lives Matter for comment.

Our rating: False
The claim that Black Lives Matter tweeted in support of the Hamas militant group is FALSE, based on our research. The organization tweeted in support of Palestinians, not Hamas.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Black Lives Matter supports Palestinians, not Hamas