Did Delta Force arrest Chelsea Clinton and her husband for attempting to sell Haitian children to a child trafficking ring? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer and a spokesperson for the U.S. Army said that the whole claim was false. Also, the claim originated from a website that tells its readers, "This website contains humor, parody, and satire."
The story originated as an article published by Real Raw News on September 19, 2021 titled "Delta Force Arrests Chelsea Clinton - Real Raw News" (archived here) which opened:
Delta Force operators on Saturday arrested Chelsea Clinton and husband Marc Mezvinsky while the two were travelling by car from Clinton's lavish Manhattan condominium to a vacation spot in Rockport, MA., where the duo visits often to escape the hustle and bustle of city life, Real Raw News has learned. Per military sources, Special Forces had been shadowing Clinton for weeks, waiting for an opportunity to apprehend her when she was least protected.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Delta Force Arrests Chelsea Clinton - Real Raw News
(Source: Real Raw News screenshot taken on Mon Sep 20 14:34:26 2021 UTC)
The bogus article falsely claimed that Chelsea Clinton was "abducting Haitian children and selling them off to the highest bidders of a child trafficking ring that has existed for decades."
Lead Stories sent emails to the Pentagon and the U.S. Army on September 20, 2021. Spokespeople for both responded saying that the claims in the story are untrue.
Lead Stories emailed The Clinton Foundation also, and will update this story if a reply is received.
Delta Force is a counterterrorism unit of the U.S. Army, trained to kill or capture high-value units or dismantle terrorist cells, according to Military.com.
Real Raw News has a long history of publishing false claims in mock news stories, many of them about convictions and executions of various public figures at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. For example, the site reported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hanged (she wasn't); former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was executed (he wasn't); and that "the military" convicted former Attorney General William Barr on charges of treason (it didn't).
The website for Real Raw News includes a disclaimer that warns readers not to take its content too seriously. Specifically, it says:
Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.
(Source: RealRawNews.com screenshot taken Tue Aug 3 16:39:48 UTC 2021)
Lead Stories has covered claims published by Real Raw News in the past. Previous Lead Stories debunks of Real Raw News items are collected here .
