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The Big Lies › 2020 › File PF-0086
Retracted

Newsweek: Barrett's Faith Group Inspired 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Newsweek's headline said People of Praise, the Christian community Amy Coney Barrett belongs to, inspired Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale.'

First reported Sep 21, 2020 · Newsweek
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: snopes.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Democrats

It tied Trump's Supreme Court pick to a dystopian symbol of oppressing women.

What was reported

Newsweek's headline said People of Praise, the Christian community Amy Coney Barrett belongs to, inspired Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale.'

What actually happened

Atwood never named People of Praise as an inspiration; a clipping in her research files pointed to a different group, People of Hope, and she later said it was not them. Newsweek changed the headline and added a correction apologizing for the error. Snopes rated the broader claim Mostly False.

The proof

Newsweek's appended correction and Atwood's own statements that it was a different group.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Newsweek: Barrett's Faith Group Inspired 'The Handmaid's Tale' — Retracted. Newsweek's appended correction and Atwood's own statements that it was a different group. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/newsweek-barrett-people-of-praise-handmaids-tale/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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