George Papadopoulos, a former member of the foreign policy advisory panel for President-elect Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, is being ridiculed on X after falling for a fabricated TikTok video related to the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
In the post, which has since been deleted, Papadopoulos shared video of what was alleged to be a transgender government official in California arguing that diversity was the main priority in response to the disaster.
In the post, the character also referred to firefighters as "fire people" and said reservoirs had been emptied to protect salamanders
The video was originally posted to TikTok by @lukestagewalker, a smaller creator who regularly uses face swap filters in satirical videos. Although the original TikTok was also been deleted, a copy of the video is still available on the user's Instagram.
The obviously fake video was also amplified by Simona Mangiante, Papadopoulos' wife, who called the imagined government official a freak.
Unlike her husband, however, Simona has not taken down her post.
"God save California from these FREAKS!" she said.
God save California from these FREAKS! https://t.co/rNf1X7VEHK
— Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos (@SimonaMangiante) January 12, 2025
Despite the apparent use of a face filter in the video, Simona argued that the video was indistinguishable from a legitimate news clip when informed of its authenticity.
"It is a spoof, but still pretty real," one user replied.
"I know ! The fact we can even question if it's real or not says it all!" Simona replied.
I know ! The fact we can even question if it’s real or not it says it all!
— Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos (@SimonaMangiante) January 12, 2025
Simona and her husband weren't alone in struggling to distinguish fact from fiction. In her replies, numerous users appeared to believe that the poorly produced clip was real.
"Freaks is putting it mildly…..they’re degenerates," one user said.
"Fucking freaks so sick and tired of this," another replied.
The replies to the now-deleted post from Papadopoulos were largely similar, although some mocked the conservative figure for being duped.
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikTok video's creator for comment on multiple platforms but did not receive a reply.
The clip comes as conservatives attempt to blame, among other things, DEI for the devastating fires.
Particular ire has been directed at Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley, who became the department's first female and LGBTQ fire chief in 2022.
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