Claim:
Clint Eastwood once said: "If a man called a duck a goose, women used to smile, nod, and pretend it was a goose. Now they'll just tell you it's a duck. So don't tell me the patriarchy still exists."
Rating:
Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )
Throughout 2024, a meme circulated on social media attributing a quote to actor and director Clint Eastwood, which read: "If a man called a duck a goose, women used to smile, nod, and pretend it was a goose. Now they'll just tell you it's a duck. So don't tell me the patriarchy still exists."
A Threads post in June by the account @lowqualityfacts included the image, which was captioned: "Clint Eastwood has some strong opinions on some weird things." One user replied: "He's weird," while another wrote: " Sit down, Clint. You're just embarrassing yourself."
(Threads user @lowqualityfacts)
Low Quality Facts (LQF) posted the same image in April and February with a near-identical caption.
The meme also spread via Low Quality Facts' other social media accounts, such as Mastodon and X . One Mastodon user replied: "Now they will tell Clint to duck off," while another wrote : "I have few disappointments as disappointing as Clint Eastwood."
However, the quotation was not an authentic statement from Clint Eastwood. It originated from LQF, a network of social media accounts that acknowledged its content was "low quality" and hoped to make people "smile and laugh," which is why we rated this claim as "Labeled Satire."
A Google search for the alleged Eastwood quote produced no credible evidence the Hollywood star ever made such a statement. There were also no reliable sources, interviews, or articles linking Eastwood to this remark.
Moreover, a reverse-image search indicated the quote was produced by LQF.
LQF's Threads bio read: "Low Quality Facts written in arguably lower quality handwriting," while its Patreon page described its content as "silly little facts" meant to create "high-quality smiles and laughs":
This is just a way to support the writing of my silly little facts. The facts are certainly low quality, but I have been told that they create some high quality smiles and laughs. Is that worth a dollar? Heck if I know. You decide.
LQF's Instagram account linked to another called Otterly Human , which itself linked to a separate Patreon page belonging to a user named Connor Stone, whose profile says, "I have spent the last few years tweeting humorous ideas ... I hope that you find our comics to be mildly amusing. Mild amusement is a very pleasant feeling to feel. One of my top ten emotions for sure."
This was not the first time Eastwood had been the subject of a fabricated quotation. In May 2024, Snopes debunked another widely shared image falsely attributing a political statement to Eastwood, reading: "This is a FACT: If illegal people that are in our country voted for Republicans, the Democrats would have built a border wall years ago."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
Sources:
"Get More from Low Quality Facts on Patreon." Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/lowqualityfacts . Accessed 5 Sept. 2024.
'Get More from Otterly Human on Patreon'. Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/otterlyhuman . Accessed 5 Sept. 2024.
Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/lowqualityfacts/ . Accessed 5 Sept. 2024.
---. https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fotterlyhuman%2F&is_from_rle . Accessed 5 Sept. 2024.
Liles, Jordan. "Clint Eastwood Said Dems Would Have Built Border Wall If 'Illegal People' Voted Republican?" Snopes, 29 May 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/eastwood-democrats-border-quote/ .
Threads. https://www.threads.net/@lowqualityfacts . Accessed 5 Sept. 2024.
Local News
