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Miriam Valverde
By Miriam Valverde September 26, 2018

No, Christine Blasey Ford's husband did not expose a 'sick issue' about her

Comments made by Christine Blasey Ford’s husband have been distorted in a headline to falsely claim he revealed a "sick issue" about her.

Christine Blasey Ford has accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.

"Kavanaugh accuser’s husband breaks his silence, exposes ‘sick issue’ his wife has," said the headline on a Sept. 25 story posted on a website operating under the banner "Virginia Press." Its URL is virginiapress31.site.

This story was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

"According to Russell Ford, his wife Christine has long had issues with not getting ‘the attention or respect she felt she deserved.’ She’s certainly getting a lot of attention now, which calls into question the validity of her claims that Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her during a drunken high school party 36-years-ago. Were Christine Ford’s unbelievable accusations rooted in her incessant need for attention all along?" said the Virginia Press story.

The story accurately quotes Russell Ford’s comments to the Washington Post about his wife not getting the attention or respect she felt she deserved.

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However, the Virginia Press site misrepresents what he said to paint it in a negative light. Russell Ford did not make those comments in efforts to expose a "sick issue." That’s a conclusion the website makes. Russell Ford’s comments in the Washington Post story are in the context of how they met and built a relationship. Christine Blasey Ford grew up on the east coast and now lives in California, where she is a professor.

"She didn’t always get along with her parents because of differing political views," Russell Ford told the Washington Post. "It was a very male-dominated environment. Everyone was interested in what’s going on with the men, and the women are sidelined, and she didn’t get the attention or respect she felt she deserved. That’s why she was in California, to get away from the D.C. scene."

The post also claims that Christine Blasey Ford has been berated by online student reviews. Bloggers made those claims based on reviews for another professor.

The Virginia Press website features several elements associated with websites promoting false information. There’s no indication who’s behind the website, where it’s based or who are its authors. Stories have fields for comments but the website does not identify how to contact its operators.

It’s headline claiming that, "Kavanaugh accuser’s husband breaks his silence, exposes ‘sick issue’ his wife has" distorts what he said to create a false narrative.

We rate the headline False.

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"Kavanaugh accuser’s husband breaks his silence, exposes ‘sick issue’ his wife has."
in a blog post
Tuesday, September 25, 2018

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No, Christine Blasey Ford's husband did not expose a 'sick issue' about her

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