‘F*cking Lunatic’: Claim That Hostage Showed ‘Appreciation and Thanks’ to Hamas at Release Gets Mega Viral Backlash and Community Note

Caleb HoweNov 26th, 2023, 7:26 pm
 

Israeli hostage being released from Hamas captivity. (Image via Screenshot)

A bizarre and offensive post on X (formerly Twitter) from a self-described “journalist” has nearly 8 million views and counting on Sunday, primarily by way of massive condemnations from big name accounts. And it got a Community Note to boot.

The message was sent from an account under the name Maree Campbell, which has a bio that claims she is an analyst and journalist.

Sharing a screenshot of Mia Regev, 21, who was freed from captivity by Hamas terrorists on Saturday and whose brother is either dead or still a hostage, the Campbell account tweeted that Regev’s face seemed to express her thankfulness for how well she was treated by Hamas.

“I’m not a facial expression expert, but judging by the look in her eyes and the expression on her face, I’d say that is a look of appreciation and thanks,” she wrote. “Might it be that she is saying thanks for being treated unexpectedly well whilst in captivity? 🤔”

The emoji notwithstanding, the reaction on X (formerly Twitter) was not receptive to her conjecture, and a community note soon followed.

“Mia Regev was shot by Palestinian terrorists before they abducted her & her brother. They held her with a bullet wound for 50 days as a hostage and only released her pursuant to an agreement freeing convicted criminals from jail. She needed immediate medical care upon release,” the community note explained.

The reactions to Campbell’s tweet were in the tens of thousands, including from among some big names in politics and journalism, mostly but not only from the politically right-leaning.

Pundit and commentator Jonah Goldberg, formerly of National Review, put it succinctly when he replied “WTF is wrong with you?” Intelligence expert and former MSNBC national security analyst Malcolm Nance, a Democrat, got equally to the point when replying “you are an absolute idiot” to Campbell. Author Bethany Mandel was even more explicit, calling Campbell a “fucking lunatic.”

Anti-Trump former Republican Joe Walsh, CNN commentator and former House Republican who sat on the January 6 committee Adam Kinzinger both weighed in as well, along with former Mitt Romney adviser Dan Senor, conservative talk host Dave Rubin, actor Matthew Marsden, and too many others to list.

We could go on.

After her initial tweet was slapped with a community note, the Campbell account doubled-down, complaining about the note should be “rated down.”

“This community notes should be rated down – because ‘the context’ it is adding is from an unreliable source and is totally irrelevant to the content of my post,” the post said. “Together, let’s beat the Zionists who are trying to game the system and harass us into silence.”

The screenshot was from a Hamas video, which was shown on Al-Jazeera and elsewhere.

President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed his joy that hostages were released and his hope that the pause during which they were set free can continue, provided Hamas continues to release hostages.

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Caleb Howe - Contributing Editor

Caleb Howe is an editor and writer focusing on politics and media. Former managing editor at RedState. Published at USA Today, Blaze, National Review, Daily Wire, American Spectator, AOL News, Asylum, fortune cookies, manifestos, napkins, fridge drawings...