Did Ihlan Omar commit treason and did Nancy Pelosi cover it up? 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. Articles from the site are frequently copied by non-satirical fake news sites from Macodonia and other places and this is our main reason for debunking this kind of satire.
The story originated from an article published on June 7, 2019 titled "Ihlan Omar Commited Treason and Nancy Pelosi Covered It Up" (archived here) which opened:
Nancy Pelosi is hiding a secret that could get her thrown out of Congress -- and Ilhan Omar thrown in prison. On the day of the inauguration, Pelosi was aware that Omar was about to commit treason, and not only did she ignore it, she covered it up.
According to an aide who walked away from the Democrats after seeing Omar's agenda of Shania Law and Moon God worship, the crime is unforgivable:
"Omar carried a piece of paper in her Quran vowing to "lead the destruction of the Trump administration. She told people it was just something she had vowed to do, so she wanted it as part of her oath, but given her heritage, I thought it was a bit weird."
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Ihlan Omar Commited Treason and Nancy Pelosi Covered It Up
The truth is right there in front of you.
The article was actually posted in the category "Satire That Will Anger the Average Tater" ("taters" is a nickname the owner of the site gives to elderly Trump supporters who believe his site is real).
The site is part of the "America's Last Line of Defense" network of satire websites run byself-professed liberal troll Christopher Blair from Maine along with a loose confederation of friends and allies. Blair has been in a feud with fact checking website Snopes for some time now and has also criticized other fact checkers in the past who labeled his work "fake news" instead of satire. In reaction to this he has recently rebranded all his active websites and Facebook pages so they carry extremely visible disclaimers everywhere.
Every site in the network has an about page that reads (in part):
About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with "comedy":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.Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
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. That happened in this case too:
Ihlan Omar Commited Treason and Nancy Pelosi Covered It Up - Fight For America
Nancy Pelosi is hiding a secret that could get her thrown out of Congress - and Ilhan Omar thrown in prison. On the day of the inauguration, Pelosi was aware that Omar was about to commit treason, and not only did she ignore it, she covered it up.
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 bustatroll.org 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 bustatroll.org before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: Ilhan Omar Did NOT Propose Tax on Pork Products 'So Costly Nobody Will Buy Them Anymore'
- Fake News: Trump Did NOT Revoke Pelosi's White House Pass
- Fake News: Giuliani Did NOT File Impeachment Papers For Pelosi on Behalf of the White House
- Fake News: Pelosi Did NOT Issue Order to Place Barr Under 'Congressional Detention'
- Fake News: Nancy Pelosi NOT Too Drunk to Sign Her Name at 8 AM
