Fact Check

'You Might be a Moron' Quote

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy did not write a "you might be a moron" joke about the United States taking in Syrian refugees.

Published May 10, 2016

 (Facebook)
Image Via Facebook
Claim:
Jeff Foxworthy said that you "might be a moron" if you allow refugees to enter the United States.

In April 2016, the Facebook page Patriot Nation posted an image of comedian Jeff Foxworthy along with the following quote about Syrian refugees entering the United States:

If you think it's a good idea to bring in refugees who hate your country, your religion and your culture... you might be a moron!

While the quote loosely follows the same structure as Foxworthy's famous "you might be a redneck" jokes, this quote did not originate with the comedian.  Foxworthy's signature joke structure is easily imitated, and has been pilfered by several partisan groups over the years in order to spread their political opinions to a larger audience.

In 2010, a series of "you may be a Muslim" jokes were falsely attributed to the comedian.  Foxworthy was also not responsible for a series of jokes with the punchline "you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots," which started circulating in 2013. As with the above-displayed quote, there was no evidence linking the comedian to any of these jokes.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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