On Friday, many people began claiming on Twitter that the logo used by Paul Ryan, speaker of the US House of Representatives, apparently resembled a Nazi image.
The idea appeared to take off when Kenneth Pennington, a former digital director for Sen. Bernie Sanders, tweeted the image and claimed "there's something off with this logo."
Pennington later deleted his tweet, but not before it was retweeted hundreds of times.
However, a quick Google search reveals that there was not really "something off" with the logo after all. Actually, it's a representation of the Mace of the House of Representatives — which dates from 1841.
The silver mace depicts an eagle with its wings spread perched atop a globe. According to the House website, it's a "symbol of the House’s authority" and was made by New York silversmith William Adams.
Also, the image is used in the speaker's official seal.
i mean really. it's this. stop being dumb.
But despite it's historical origins, many people took to Twitter Friday to compare Ryan's logo to Nazi images showing birds perched above a swastika.
Gabrielle Levy, who works for US News and World Report, was among those who shared the images, though she later deleted the tweet.
Paul Ryan is finally at peace with his inner Adolf.
Others, however, observed that if people had just spent a bit of time looking into it they might have noticed that Ryan's logo looks a lot like many others used in the US. For example, Ryan's predecessor, John Boehner, used a very similar image:
Just send this image to any idiot in your timeline complaining about speaker ryan's logo
Also, the Marine Corps has a bird-on-a-globe seal.
Something VERY FISHY about the Marine Corps logo
Same for the Atlanta Falcons.
Yeah, this is not wise, Speaker Ryan.
In fact, the seal of the US itself prominently displays a fishy looking eagle inside a circle.
When BuzzFeed News asked Ryan's spokesperson AshLee Strong about the image Friday, she replied, "Are you serious? It’s the Mace of the U.S. House of Representatives dating back to 1841. This basic lack of knowledge is how fake news spreads and I urge you to read up."
So in conclusion, read up, or at least Google before tweeting.
