Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in the Liberal convention in Ottawa on Thursday, May 4, 2023. A quote circulating on social media criticising Trudeau's supporters has been attributed to a Prague newspaper, but the same quote has been used against multiple world leaders since as early as 2009, and no evidence of an original has been found. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in the Liberal convention in Ottawa on Thursday, May 4, 2023. A quote circulating on social media criticising Trudeau's supporters has been attributed to a Prague newspaper, but the same quote has been used against multiple world leaders since as early as 2009, and no evidence of an original has been found. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
People on social media have been sharing a quote that says the country is in danger because of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs who support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The text is purported to be from a newspaper in Prague. This is false. The quote has been circulating for more than a decade, did not originate with Trudeau and has had different leaders from around the world the subject of its criticism.
Some posts from 2021 on X, formerly known as Twitter, and claimed about Trudeau is translated from a The quote says in text or in an image that "the danger to Canada is not Justin Trudeau, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with being Prime Minister." The quote goes on to say that "the country can survive a Trudeau" but "it is less likely to survive a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their prime minister." At the time of publication, had more than 172,000 views and 1,500 retweets.
Rating: False
The quote referencing Trudeau has been widely circulated on social media and used in in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø newspapers since at least 2021. Many say the quote is from a "Prague newspaper" and one social media user
However, identical texts have been circulating on social media about other world leaders, including since his election in 2020. Many of the posts about Biden also allege the quotes have been translated into English from an article in a Prague newspaper. They are all similar, stating "the danger to America is not Joseph Biden, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency."
The same quote was also used to criticize .
Recycled quote
Almost word-for-word quotes about former president Barack Obama have been shared on , in of news websites and as far back as 2009.
The blog post about Obama from 2009 cites "Prager Zeitungon," a likely misspelling of the German newspaper in the Czech Republic called . A shows the earliest online article about Obama from 2012 and it does not mention the quote. Prager Zeitung's website also shows .
Prager Zeitung's editor-in-chief said the publication has never published such an article.
The quote has been multiple times by and all have found the text to be false. A claim the quote came from the former president of the Czech Republic , which is owned by the non-profit .
Shareable quotes can take a life of their own online. While this text has recently targeted Trudeau, it has been used to lambaste other leaders around the world since it first emerged.
As noted by other fact checks, it has been used to criticize South Africa's President and former president . from 2010 also uses the quote in reference to former prime minister of New Zealand John Key.
Sources
Social media claims can be found on X (), (), () and (), and on Facebook ()
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About ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Press fact checks
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