Was Jason Jones, an 11-year-old African American boy arrested in a Montgomery, Alabama Walmart for yodeling? No, that did not happen, it is a fake story pushed by a known fake news website, the events did not happen and the claim is not true.
The story originated on known "fauxtire" website Huzlers with an article published on April 10, 2018 titled "11 Year Old Boy Arrested For Yodeling In A Walmart Store" (archived here) which opened:
MONTGOMERY, AL - An 11 year old african american boy was arrested by authorities sunday afternoon for reportedly yodeling in a local Walmart store.
Jason Jones, 11, was arrested by Montgomery police for yodeling in Walmart. According to Walmart employees, Jason was dressed in a cowboy-like outfit while he was yodeling. Walmart security then tackled Jason as he was in the middle of singing 'Lovesick Blues' by Hank Williams Sr. Jason was the detained until Montgomery police arrived and arrested him.
Jason admitted to being inspired by Mason Ramsey, another 11 year old Illinois boy who recently went viral after a video was captured of him also yodeling in a Walmart. "why didn't y'all tackle that lil ass white kid?" Jason reportedly asked police before being told to shutup.
On social media it looked just like a regular news story:
11 Year Old Boy Arrested For Yodeling In A Walmart Store
MONTGOMERY, AL - An 11 year old african american boy was arrested by authorities sunday afternoon for reportedly yodeling in a local Walmart store. Jason Jones, 11, was arrested by Montgomery police for yodeling in Walmart. According to Walmart employees...
It references the real story of Mason Ramsey, a 10-year-old who actually yodeled in a Walmart store and became a viral sensation overnight. Walmart is even throwing him a party:
Southern Illinois' 'Walmart Yodeling Boy' getting party after going viral
HARRISBURG, IL - Some people in Illinois picked up dinner and a show last week at their local Walmart. Mason Ramsey, 10, was there and just started singing. He's now known as "The Yodeling Boy" for his rendition of Hank Williams' Lovesick Blues.
The boy in the picture that illustrated the fake story is actually 12-year-old Jarell Milton who was involved in a robbery and murder case:
12-year-old Omaha boy gets probation for role in Miller Park homicide
Douglas County prosecutors want a 12-year-old boy involved in a robbery and killing at Miller Park sent to an out-of-state group home in the hope that he will sever his ties to an Omaha street gang. Prosecutor Jim Masteller said Thursday that authorities are looking into group homes for Jarrell Milton in Nebraska, Iowa and Arizona.
Huzlers styles itself as a "fauxtire" website and carries a disclaimer at the bottom of each page:
Huzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world. If it's trending on social media you'll find it here!
According to Splinter News the site is run by Pablo Reyes and David Martinez and according to Buzzfeed Reyes is involved with several other fake news websites. They tend to shy away from political stories, opting instead to write for a more "urban" audience, with stories about rappers, criminals and celebrities.
We wrote about huzlers.com and their fauxtire before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: NO McDonald's Employee Fired For Putting His Mixtapes In Happy Meals
- Fake News: Tide Did NOT Confirm Tide Pods To Be Discontinued After Several Deaths Due To "Tide Pod Challenge"
- Fake News: Man Did NOT Beat Friend Nearly To Death After He Finds Him Sleeping With His Sex Robot
- Fake News: Chinese Engineer Did NOT Contract STD After Having Sex With Sex Robot Prototype
- Fake News: H&M NOT To Release "Equally Racist" Collection As Apology To Blacks
