Did President Donald Trump say he will pay for the entire July 4 parade in Washington out of his own pocket? 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 meant as humor and social commentary but we are sure the story will soon be copied by various fake news sites being run out of places like Macedonia and Pakistan who wil then peddle it as real news.
The story originated from an article published by Taters Gonna Tate on July 3, 2019 titled "President Trump: "I Will Pay For July 4 Parade Out Of My Own Pocket"" (archived here) which opened:
The liberal press hasn't been able to stop talking about the price tag of the July 4 extravaganza that will be hosted by President Trump in and around the National Mall tomorrow. All that's been heard from them is "Boo hoo! $90 million. Taxpayers on the hook. Blah blah blah". Not once have they taken the time to marvel at and thank our President for putting together the greatest celebration of our nation's independence ever seen.
But now they can stop their crying. In an announcement that came as a surprise only to the democrats, the White House tells us that President Trump will pay the full price tag for the event out of his own pocket.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
President Trump: "I Will Pay For July 4 Parade Out Of My Own Pocket"
The liberal press hasn't been able to stop talking about the price tag of the July 4 extravaganza that will be hosted by President Trump in and around the National Mall tomorrow. All thatR...
It was literally published in the category "Satire and/or Conservative Fan Fiction". The stock image used with the story shows a parade in New York from 2009:
Stock Photo - Sector New York marches down 5th Ave
Download this stock image: Sector New York marches down 5th Ave. - D4KBGF from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.
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.
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 tatersgonnatate.com 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 tatersgonnatate.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: NO New Dem Bill To Limit Firearm Ownership to One Per Household
- Fake News: Panel of 16 Judges Did NOT Agree Barr Has Enough to Indict Clinton and Obama
- Fake News: 243 Angry Passengers NOT Grounded In Iowa After Nancy Pelosi's Drunken Rampage
- Fake News: Ocasio-Cortez Did NOT Propose Nationwide Motorcycle Ban
- Fake News: Nancy Pelosi's Husband Did NOT File for Divorce, Did NOT Say 'I just Can't Take It Anymore'
