The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) addressed allegations from former Congressman Matt Gaetz regarding the use of QR codes at its events and a separate incident involving his hotel room in Israel. AIPAC stated that the accusations are false, clarifying that barcodes on name badges serve security purposes, not fundraising. “Barcodes are on name badges for security reasons, not fundraising, and are scanned for that purpose,” AIPAC said in a statement. The organization suggested Gaetz may have been confused, noting, “Maybe @mattgaetz was confused because he wanted people to scan his barcode, and they didn’t even want to talk to him.”

Gaetz disputed this, asserting that AIPAC’s use of QR codes at events allowed donors to scan attendees’ name badges to make donations. “You get there and you wear this name badge. And I remember there’s a QR code on it,” he explained. Gaetz described the process as requiring participants to engage with donors, stating, “If they liked you, they scanned your QR code to make a donation on the spot.” He criticized the practice as dehumanizing, saying, “Can you just imagine how demoralizing that is? To be told that your job for the next several hours is to go chat people up, hoping they would scan you like a can of tomato soup on the way out of the meeting?”

Gaetz also recounted an incident in Israel where he alleged someone “rooting around” in his hotel room. He claimed to have reported the event to congressional leadership, who dismissed it as routine and warned him not to leave valuables in his room abroad. AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittman denied the story, calling it a “preposterously false allegation” aimed at discrediting those supporting U.S.-Israel relations. “We will not be deterred by extremists… in our efforts which are consistent with American interests and values,” he stated.

Gaetz’s claims were shared by Rep. Thomas Massie’s campaign account, which noted the story was told to them directly by Gaetz but labeled it a lie. AIPAC reiterated its stance, rejecting all allegations as unfounded.