The Weemsy Awards

Welcome to The Weemsy Awards™!
We spotlight the most egregious misrepresentations of U.S. History in the past year by politicians, celebrities, executives, and more. We received more than 100 nominations for 2020 and the winners have been chosen!

The winners of the
2020 Weemsy Awards™!

NOMINATIONS

The Weemsy Awards™ were mentioned in The New Yorker!
Read it here

Throughout the year, The Weemsy Awards™ collects (with the help of #Twitterstorians and others on social media) stories about historical numbskullery.

Then, in early December we organize the top nominees (based degree of inaccuracy, absurdity, and ignorance) into 6 awards categories and ask the public to vote for the winners which are announced in mid-December.

THE AWARDS

ABOUT

Award #1: Biggest History Fool of 2020 (aka Weemsy of the Year)
The person who said the most incredibly ridiculous and demonstrably false statements about US history in 2020 -

WINNER - President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump earned a record 22 Weemsy™ nominations for saying things like the wheel was invented in the US, “Nobody had ever heard of” Juneteenth before he made it “very famous,” anti-racism protests were a plot “to overthrow the American Revolution,” Abraham Lincoln “wasn’t big on the Hispanic movement,” and that COVID-19 – which came with a 2-month warning – was “worse than” surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor and 9/11.

RUNNER UP: Senator Tom Cotton (see Award #2)

The Weemsy Awards™, also known as The Weemsies™, are brought to you by historian Edward T. O’Donnell, Ph.D., host of the podcast In The Past Lane, with help from a collective of fellow historians who are dedicated to historical accuracy. The awards are named in honor of Parson Weems, aka Mason Locke Weems, (1759-1825). Weems was a preacher and bookseller who... READ MORE

The Weemsy Awards™ spotlight the most egregious misrepresentations of U.S. History in the past year by politicians, celebrities, executives, and more. Recent award categories include:

BIGGEST HISTORY FOOL OF THE YEAR

MOST ASTONISHINGLY STUPID REFERENCE TO SLAVERY

GREATEST FALSE CLAIM ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION