Pam from 'The Office' gets 65K+ RTs, 220K+ likes for totally bogus take on tax reform

Greg P. | 10:34 AM on December 26, 2017

This is how the fake news is made…

Actress Jenna Fischer, aka Pam from “The Office,” took to Twitter on Dec. 23 to bash the GOP tax reform bill as it related to teacher and a tax deduction for classroom supplies.

She tweeted, “I can’t stop thinking about how school teachers can no longer deduct the cost of their classroom supplies on their taxes…something they shouldn’t have to pay for with their own money in the first place. I mean, imagine if nurses had to go buy their own syringes. #ugh”

https://twitter.com/jennafischer/status/944609878349246464

Hashtag #ugh is right, as she’s wrong:

I don’t want to fight with Pam from The Office, but this is not true. Final tax bill kept the $250 school supplies deduction https://t.co/8ZavNj5V5z https://t.co/c6AMoVqcg3

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) December 24, 2017

Correction: That deduction has been left alone. Whether teachers need pens and pencils or entire reams of Dunder Mifflin’s finest card stock, they can still deduct the cost as they could before.

And most will also get well-deserved tax cuts. https://t.co/nAvaOrmU6u #utpol

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) December 24, 2017

It really is how the fake news is spread:

https://twitter.com/JoePerticone/status/944968087022977024

But Hollywood in action:

Can't stop thinking about it… but too lazy to check and see it's not true. #hollywood https://t.co/46t10ChHfo

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) December 24, 2017

Even liberals admit it’s wrong:

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/944973948483244034

But, of course, it’s another “Republicans pounce” moment:

The "Republicans pounce" headline is always great. No, she spread something that was completely false and refused to correct for days. She was called out for it. That's the story. https://t.co/9YPUcs6CFS

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) December 26, 2017

Disappointing to see this inaccurate tweet shared so many times. The truth is tax reform retains important tax benefits and deductions many Americans count on, including relief for high medical bills, mortgage interest, and education expenses. https://t.co/1rtVSLJZBz

— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) December 26, 2017

Fisher did issue somewhat of a correction, but notice how many times it has been shared compared to the original:

Thanks for your tweets! I had some facts wrong. Teachers surveyed by Scholastic in 2016 personally spent an average of $530 on school supplies for students. Teachers who worked at high-poverty schools spent an average of $672. The tax deduction was capped at $250.

— Jenna Fischer (@jennafischer) December 25, 2017

Typical.

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