Is a corporation named "LexCorp" planning to open "muslamic" temples in Toys R' Us locations? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need to actually click and read links before sharing or liking them in order to avoid being embarrassed by fans of the site later. All the events described in the article are not real and several words that appear in the story are invented by the authors but clearly meant to resemble "islamic", "muslim" and "mullah".
The story originated from an article published by Be Best Website on December 21, 2018 titled "Corporation Wins Bid To Open Muslamic Temples in Toys R' Us Locations" (archived here) which opened:
Lexcorp, the massive corporate giant whose international holdings number in the trillions, easily won their bid to build and operate Muslamic Temples inside all shuttered Toys R' Us locations within the United States.
Lexcorp's legal partners Wolfram & Hart brokered the final provisions this morning and will begin refurbishing and consecrating the properties next week.
CEO and onetime Fallah of the League of Greater Muslamia Sahmee H'gar told the Wall Street Journal that he was excited for a new addition to globalism and harmony:
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail and many probably liked and shared it without thinking (or clicking):
Corporation Wins Bid To Open Muslamic Temples in Toys R' Us Locations
Lexcorp, the massive corporate giant whose international holdings number in the trillions, easily won their bid to build and operate Muslamic Temples inside all shuttered Toys R' Us locations...
First of all, there is no word "Muslamic", it has been invented by the owners of the site because it is easily confused with "muslim" or "islamic". Second, the "LexCorp" company does not exist in real life, it is a fictional corporation run by villain Lex Luthor in the Superman comics. The Wolfram & Hart law firm is also fictional and appears in the TV series "Angel".
There is also no "League of Greater Muslamia" and nobody knows what a "Fallah" is except for the people who run the site because they invented the word. The name "Sahmee H'gar" seems to be a wordplay on the name of rock musician Sammy Hagar.
The site that published the hoax comes with a clear satire disclaimer at the bottom of each article:
sat·ire ~ˈsaˌtī(ə)r
noun
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
If you disagree with the definition of satire or have decided it is synonymous with "comedy," you should really just move along.
The owner and main writer of the site is self-professed liberal troll Christopher Blair, a man from Maine who has made it his full time job to troll gullible conservatives and Trump supporters into liking and sharing his articles. He runs several other websites, including potatriotpost.us, dailyworldupdate.us and nofakenewsonline.us. Sometimes he is also known under his nickname "Busta Troll". A second man working on the sites is John Prager as revealed in this earlier story we wrote.
Articles from Blair's sites frequently get copied by "real" fake news sites who often omit the satire disclaimer and any other hints the stories are fake. Blair has tried to get these sites shut down in the past but new ones keep cropping up and he keeps knocking them down.
Blair and his operation were profiled by the Washington Post on November 17, 2018 by Eli Saslow:
'Nothing on this page is real': How lies become truth in online America
November 17 The only light in the house came from the glow of three computer monitors, and Christopher Blair, 46, sat down at a keyboard and started to type. His wife had left for work and his children were on their way to school, but waiting online was his other community, an unreality where nothing was exactly as it seemed.
If you are interested in learning more about Blair and the history of his sites, here is something to get you started:
The Ultimate Christopher Blair and America's Last Line of Defense Reading List | Lead Stories
STORY UPDATED: check for updates below. Yesterday Eli Saslow at the Washington Post wrote a fantastic article about Christopher Blair, a man from Maine who has been trolling conservatives and Trump supporters online for years and occasionally even made a living out of it.
If you see one of his stories on a site that does not contain a satire disclaimer, assume it is fake news. If you do see the satire disclaimer it is of course also fake news.
NewsGuard, a company that uses trained journalist to rank the reliability of websites, describes bebest.website as:
A site that publishes false stories and hoaxes that are often mistaken for real news, part of a network named America's Last Line of Defense run by hoax perpetrator Christopher Blair.
According to NewsGuard the site does not maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability. Read their full assessment here.
We wrote about bebest.website before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: GoFundme Wall Donations NOT To Be Diverted to Climate Change Programs
- Fake News: James Woods Hit By Death Hoax, First Victim of New Christopher Blair Site
- Fake News: Pelosi Did NOT Say Trump Can Have Wall If He Doesn't Run In 2020
- Fake News: Stores Did NOT Report Donald Trump Action Figure is the Hottest Seller of Season
- Fake News: Lady Gaga, Hillary Clinton NOT to Perform at Superbowl Halftime
