On 30 September 2016, various web sites published a leaked audio recording from a February 2016 fundraising event in Virginia at which Hillary Clinton made brief remarks before taking questions from the audience. One of those audience questions

referenced the “cynicism” of some voters, to which Clinton responded by “examining the forces that leave many young voters disaffected” and analyzing why many of them supported the campaign of Bernie Sanders, a candidate whom Clinton felt offered a “false promise” to voters with concerns for their futures.

The audio clip was often shared under such misleading headlines claiming that Clinton had called millennial voters “basement dwellers.” The Week, for instance, used the title “Hillary Clinton Calls Bernie Sanders Supporters Uninformed Basement Dwellers in Hacked Audio Clip.”

Although outlets such as The Week may have been attempting to paraphrase Clinton’s comments, the Democratic presidential nominee never actually used the phrase “basement dwellers.” Regardless, a rumor began circulating that Clinton had used that exact phrase, and soon enough the hashtag #basementdwellers (referencing something she didn’t say) was trending alongside #basketofdeplorables (referencing something she did say).

However, Clinton never used the phrase “basement dwellers.” Rather, she expressed sympathy with young college-educated voters who had little choice but to remain at home due to being unable to find self-supporting jobs in the current market and had grown cynical of a system they felt had failed them: