Did the recent omnibus spending bill include $30 million for paying off the women President Trump allegedly had affairs with, for example porn star Stormy Daniels? Fortunately for taxpayers no such earmark exists: it all came from a satire website.
On March 26, 2018 The Babylon Bee posted an article titled "Confirmed: 2018 Spending Bill Includes $30 Million For Paying Off Trump Mistresses" (archived here) which opened:
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The recently passed omnibus federal spending bill includes up to $30 million earmarked for paying off women President Trump had affairs with, sources within Congress revealed Monday.
A small paragraph on the 768th page of the 2200-page document authorizes President Trump to spend tens of millions of dollars buying the silence of women he may have had affairs with. Senator Rand Paul discovered the line item when he hurriedly attempted to read through the bill before being rushed to vote on it last week, being the only person on the planet who actually read the massive document.
"I guess he got someone to slip the item in there before we voted on it. None of us read it so we had no idea it was in there," House Speaker Paul Ryan said. "What can you do? I'm definitely not gonna read it."
To users on social media who only saw the summary the story might have looked like a regular news report:
Confirmed: 2018 Spending Bill Includes $30 Million For Paying Off Trump Mistresses
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The recently passed omnibus federal spending bill includes up to $30 million earmarked for paying off women President Trump had affairs with, sources within Congress revealed Monday. A small paragraph on the 768th page of the 2200-page document authorizes President Trump to spend tens of millions of dollars buying the silence of women he ...
But it was all satire: we wrote about The Babylon Bee before, check out some other satirical articles they posted which were mistaken by some for real news and subsequently achieved some viral succes:
- Fake News: Ken Ham NOT Arrested For Vandalizing Grand Canyon Signs
- Fake News: Jim Bakker Did NOT Say 'Trump Was Merely Sharing The Gospel With That Porn Star'
- Fake News: President Trump Did NOT Declare The Babylon Bee His Most-Trusted News Source
Note that "The Babylon Bee" comes with following dislaimer on every page:
The Babylon Bee is Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire.
Some of their other greatest hits from the past include:
- Joel Osteen Sails Luxury Yacht Through Flooded Houston To Pass Out Copies Of 'Your Best Life Now'
- Steven Furtick Signs 6-Year, $110 Million Contract With Lakewood Church
- Another Actress Accuses Kirk Cameron Of Treating Her With Respect
- ISIS Lays Down Arms After Katy Perry's Impassioned Plea To 'Like, Just Co-Exist'
With a track record like that it is clear that you shouldn't take anything posted on the site seriously and you definitely shouldn't confuse it with real news.
