Is the U.S. Senate on lockdown after credible threats from known killers? No, that's not true: a Christian-themed satire website wrote an article based on a tweet from Planned Parenthood Action in order to criticize their view on abortion but the threat part is entirely made up, there is no real lockdown going on.
The story originated from an article published by The Babylon Bee on October 4, 2018 titled "Senate On Lockdown After Receiving Credible Threat From Known Killers" (archived here) which opened:
WASHINGTON, D.C.--All Republican members of the United States Senate have been placed on official lockdown after known murderers publicly made ominous threats of violence against them.
The group of murderous terrorists, Planned Parenthood, posted on Twitter, "Roses are red / Violets are blue / Senators vote NO on Kavanaugh / Or else we're coming for you."
"We are taking this threat very seriously, considering the organization is known to murder hundreds each and every day," said a Secret Service official. "We receive threats all the time, but we have to gauge how serious they are based on whether or not they come from credible sources. This source is very credible. They have killed people, are killing people as we speak and will kill people again. So we can't take this lightly."
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail so some of them might have been alarmed enough to think it was real:
Senate On Lockdown After Receiving Credible Threat From Known Killers
WASHINGTON, D.C.--All Republican members of the United States Senate have been placed on official lockdown after known murderers publicly made ominous threats of violence against them.The group of murderous terrorists, Planned Parenthood, posted on Twitter, "Roses are red / Violets are blue / Senators vote NO on Kavanaugh / Or else we're coming f ...
The tweet (archived here) was indeed real but it seems more like an attempt at humor or poetry than a threat:
Roses are red
-- Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) October 4, 2018
Violets are blue
Senators vote NO on #Kavanaugh
Or else we're coming for you#NationalPoetryDay #StopKavanaugh
And of course "The Babylon Bee" comes with following dislaimer on every page:
The Babylon Bee is Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire.
Some of their greatest past hits 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.
We wrote about babylonbee.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: Bill Clinton Did NOT Say Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct Should Disqualify A Man From Public Office
- Fake News: Hurricane Florence NOT Now Expected To Ricochet Off Nation's Hedge Of Protection
- Fake News: Michelle Wolf Did NOT Ink New Deals With Hulu, Amazon, Did NOT Get Cancelled Immediately
- Fake News: Pope Did NOT Say He Will Address Sex Abuse Scandal Once He's Finished Talking About Climate Change
- Fake News: Chelsea Clinton Did NOT Claim Holocaust Added $3.5 Trillion To German Economy
