Newsom’s viral ‘Latinx’ claim crumbles amid scrutiny of his own administration’s online records

California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom recently claimed that his office had never used the term “Latinx” during a podcast interview with Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. However, a review by Fox News Digital found evidence to the contrary, showing that Newsom and his staff have indeed used the term on multiple occasions.

In a viral podcast episode, Newsom stated, “By the way, not one person ever in my office has ever used the word Latinx. I just didn’t even know where it came from. What are people talking about?” Despite this claim, posts from the governor’s official government accounts and documentation from his office show that the term has been used in various contexts.

In 2019, Newsom tweeted the term on his official government account in reference to a study on childhood poverty. He also used the term on his personal account when discussing the impact of COVID-19 on the Latinx community in California. Additionally, the term was included in official press releases, letters, and documentation from Newsom’s office, addressing issues such as minority-owned businesses, pandemic school closures, and educational equity.

While a spokesperson for Newsom’s office acknowledged that “Latinx” has been used by some staff members from time to time, the term is not widely embraced within the Latino and Hispanic communities. A Pew Research Center study found that a majority of Hispanic American adults were unfamiliar with the term and only a small percentage actually used it. Some consider the term offensive, as it is intended to be a gender-neutral alternative to Latino.

Despite Newsom’s claim that his office had never used the term “Latinx,” the evidence suggests otherwise. The controversy highlights the ongoing debate over the use of gender-neutral language and the importance of cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in public discourse.