Did muslim schoolchildren walk out when the national anthem was played at a public school? Yes, but it happened in Australia in 2015 and the kids had permission from the principal. However a clickbait site aiming for American outrage and ad dollars recycled the story in 2019 and altered the headline so the intended audience would believe it happened in America.
The story went viral via an article published by Conservative Flash on May 13, 2019 titled "MUSLIM Students At Public School Walk Out When NATIONAL ANTHEM Plays" (archived here) which opened:
Muslims NEVER assimilate! They will NEVER be apart of another country. STOP the invasion before its too late. via DAILYMAIL: A primary school has been slammed for allowing young Muslim pupils to walk out of assembly
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
MUSLIM Students At Public School Walk Out When NATIONAL ANTHEM Plays
Muslims NEVER assimilate! They will NEVER be apart of another country. STOP the invasion before its too late. via DAILYMAIL: A primary school has been slammed for allowing young Muslim pupils to walk out of assembly
People who only saw that would not have understood the story was based on a Daily Mail article from 2015 about something that happened in Australia:
Outrage as Muslim children at a primary school are allowed to walk out of assembly when the Australian national anthem is played... 'because they don't participate in joyful events'
Some 40 Muslim pupils left assembly when national anthem was played They were given chance to leave to observe religious month of mourning Some parents and politicians have slammed the 'disgusting' decision Cranbourne Carlisle Primary defended move, saying school is 'inclusive' A primary school has been slammed for allowing young Muslim pupils to walk out of assembly when the national anthem is played.
The children in question were Shia muslims participating in the mourning month of Muharram during which they were not allowed to participate in events where music was played. According to the article there had been no issue with the pupils attending events where the Australian national anthem was played as long as it wasn't during that month.
However according to CrowdTangle data the story was posted to several American Facebook groups where it was framed as if it had just happened in America:
The apparent goal seems to have been to draw in as many clicks from Americans as possible in order to make money with the ads on the site. Don't fall for sites like these!
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