AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin candidate
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez distanced herself from past defund-the-police positions while discussing Francesca Hong’s campaign
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin candidate
Photograph: WCHS (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on ABC’s “This Week” that “Woke 1 was crazy”, quoting a phrase first used by New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé.
- She was responding to questions about Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, who has faced criticism for past social media posts calling to abolish prisons and cancel Thanksgiving.
- Ocasio-Cortez stated she has not endorsed any candidate in the Wisconsin race and is focused on winning back Congress.
- Right-rated outlets led on Ocasio-Cortez’s remark and her past support for defunding police; left-rated outlets emphasised her defence of evolving positions.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 22 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
68/100
Craft
87/100
Hype
55/100
22 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 4 of the 22 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on 10 August 2026 that the first wave of progressive rhetoric, which she called “Woke 1”, was “crazy”. The remark came during a discussion about Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the state’s primary on 12 August 2026.
Hong has faced criticism for past social media posts, including one calling for the abolition of prisons and another calling for the cancellation of Thanksgiving. Ocasio-Cortez was asked by co-host Jonathan Karl to comment on Hong’s positions. She responded by quoting New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé, who had written in a May 2026 social media post that “Woke 1 was crazyyyy”.
Ocasio-Cortez said she had not endorsed any candidate in the Wisconsin race and was focused on “winning back the Congress”. She also stated that she is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, not the national organisation, and does not agree with all of its positions. The national DSA has declined to endorse Hong.
What the coverage left out
No centre-rated outlet ran this story. None of the right-rated digests mentioned that Ocasio-Cortez stated she had not endorsed any candidate in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race. None of the left-rated reports quoted the national Democratic Socialists of America’s refusal to endorse Hong.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 8 times, most recently on 10 Aug 2026, 20:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The two left-rated reports, both full articles, led on Ocasio-Cortez’s defence of evolving positions during the COVID-19 pandemic. HuffPost’s headline read “AOC Admits 'Woke 1.0 Was Crazy' While Defending COVID-Era Culture Shift”. The article quoted Ocasio-Cortez saying, “I actually think that the discussions that were had in that time were quite fruitful,” and noted her refusal to endorse Hong while focusing on winning back Congress.
- Mediaite’s digest, which summarised its own full report, led with Ocasio-Cortez’s remark that “Woke 1 was crazy” and described her distancing herself from Hong’s past positions. The digest noted that Ocasio-Cortez had joked about Hong’s call to abolish prisons and Thanksgiving but did not quote her directly on those points.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
18 rated outlets
- All ten right-rated digests led on Ocasio-Cortez’s remark that “Woke 1 was crazy” and her past support for defunding the police. WCHS, the only right-rated outlet with a full report, quoted Ocasio-Cortez saying, “I think that during this time and, especially during COVID, there was a huge opening of the Overton window,” and noted her dismissal of her past comments on defunding police.
- The Daily Caller’s digest described Ocasio-Cortez as “memory-holing her own madness”. National Review’s digest asked, “Will the Woke Own Up to Their Lunacy?” Newsweek’s digest said Ocasio-Cortez had “distanced herself from some of the policies she once backed”. Spiked’s digest carried the headline “We can’t let AOC wash her hands of woke so easily”. The Post Millennial’s digest quoted Ocasio-Cortez’s remark about the “Overton window” and described her urging voters to focus on what Democrats are saying now rather than their past “anti-white hate”.
- TrendingPolitics, ussanews.com, nytimespost.com and Fox News all led with Ocasio-Cortez’s remark that “Woke 1 was crazy”. ussanews.com’s digest said Ocasio-Cortez “wants you to forget that ‘Woke 1’ starred AOC”. nytimespost.com and Fox News both used the headline “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shrugs off past 'defund the police' comments, joking 'Woke 1 was crazy'”.
Read it at the source
23 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Democrats like AOC are trying to shrug off their ‘woke’ era. That’s bad for our politics (opens CNN in a new tab)
- Actually, AOC, Woke 1.0 Did a Lot of Good Things for This Country (opens The New Republic in a new tab)
The New Republic — is The New Republic biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- AOC Admits 'Woke 1.0 Was Crazy' While Defending COVID-Era Culture Shift (opens HuffPost in a new tab)
- ‘Woke 1 Was Crazy!’ AOC Distances Herself from Anti-Thanksgiving Socialist’s Prior Stances (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
18- Ocasio-Cortez Says She Does Not Support All Planks of Democratic Socialists’ Platform (opens The Epoch Times in a new tab)
The Epoch Times — is The Epoch Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ocasio-Cortez Distances Herself From Defund Police Language (opens WABC in a new tab)
- ‘Woke 1 Was Crazy’ AOC Says, Memory-Holing Her Own Madness (opens The Daily Caller in a new tab)
The Daily Caller — is The Daily Caller biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Will the Woke Own Up to Their Lunacy? (opens National Review in a new tab)
National Review — is National Review biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- AOC turns on woke: 4 positions she has walked back (opens Newsweek in a new tab)
- We can’t let AOC wash her hands of woke so easily (opens Spiked in a new tab)
Spiked — is Spiked biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- 'Woke One Was Crazy' (opens Hot Air in a new tab)
Hot Air — is Hot Air biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- AOC urges voters to listen to what Dems are saying now—not their Overton window-pushing anti-white hate under ‘woke 1’ (opens The Post Millennial in a new tab)
The Post Millennial — is The Post Millennial biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Show 10 more
- AOC dismisses past defunding police comments: 'Woke 1 was crazy' (opens The National Desk in a new tab)
The National Desk — is The National Desk biased? Our profile of this outlet
- AOC dismisses past defunding police comments: 'Woke 1 was crazy' (opens WCHS in a new tab)
- AOC Attempts To Laugh Off 'Woke' Era In Eyebrow-Raising Interview: 'Woke One Was Crazy' (opens TrendingPolitics in a new tab)
TrendingPolitics — is TrendingPolitics biased? Our profile of this outlet
- AOC Wants You to Forget That “Woke 1” Starred AOC (opens ussanews.com in a new tab)
ussanews.com — is ussanews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shrugs off past 'defund the police' comments, joking 'Woke 1 was crazy' - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shrugs off past 'defund the police' comments, joking 'Woke 1 was crazy' (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- ABC’s Jonathan Karl Confronts AOC with DSA’s Radical Platform: Abolish Police and Prisons, Amnesty for All Illegals… — AOC Says Americans Are Not Interested in These “Academic Debates” * The Gateway Pundit * by Jim Hᴏft (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ABC’s Jon Karl Sucks Up to ‘Kingmaker’ AOC, Tries to Soften the DSA's Hard Edges (opens NewsBusters in a new tab)
NewsBusters — is NewsBusters biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- ABC’s Jon Karl Sucks Up to ‘Kingmaker’ AOC, Tries to Soften the DSA's Hard Edges (opens mrc.org in a new tab)
mrc.org — is mrc.org biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- 'Woke 1 Was Crazy': AOC Tries to Memory-Hole Her Peak Defund-And-Abolish Era (opens Twitchy in a new tab)
Twitchy — is Twitchy biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Not rated
1Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin…?
- Of the 22 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 18% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 82% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is the coverage of AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin… biased?
- AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin candidate is one event reported by 22 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered AOC calls early progressive rhetoric 'crazy' in interview on Wisconsin…?
- 22 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say about 'Woke 1'?
- Ocasio-Cortez said on ABC’s “This Week” that “Woke 1 was crazy”, quoting a phrase first used by New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé. She made the remark while discussing Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong’s past social media posts calling to abolish prisons and cancel Thanksgiving.
- Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorse Francesca Hong?
- No. Ocasio-Cortez stated she has not endorsed any candidate in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race and is focused on winning back Congress. The national Democratic Socialists of America has also declined to endorse Hong.
- Which outlets reported on Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks?
- Twelve outlets ran the story: two left-rated (HuffPost and Mediaite), ten right-rated (including WCHS, The Daily Caller, National Review and Fox News). No centre-rated outlet covered it.
How did this read?
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