Q: Were refugees, weapons and drugs found on a Clinton Foundation cargo ship?
A: No. That is yet another story from a prolific satirical website.
FULL QUESTION
Did a Clinton Foundation cargo ship get caught smuggling people from Syria, drugs and illegal fruit?
FULL ANSWER
Facebook users have flagged a fake news story that says “a ship owned and operated by the Clinton Foundation was raided as it arrived from Africa … at the Port of Baltimore.”
The bogus story claims that “BPA Harbormaster Jake Cummings” told CNN that a cargo ship named “Chelsea” was illegally transporting 460 refugees “from places like Yemen and Syria,” as well as “illegal fruits that could potentially carry foreign insects and foodborne illnesses, weapons without serial numbers on them and no less than 30 pounds of marijuana.”
All of those details were fabricated by America’s Last Line of Defense, which, as we’ve written before, is a website that admits to making up its stories.
A revised disclaimer on its website now says: “America’s Last Line of Defense is a satirical publication that uses the imagination of liberals to expose the extreme bigotry and hate and subsequent blind gullibility that festers in right-wing nutjobs. We present fiction as fact and our sources don’t actually exist. Names that represent actual people and places are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and do not in any way depict reality. In other words, if you believe this crap you’re a real dumbass.”
The fake story even prompted a response from the Port of Baltimore.
A story was published on websites mentioning the Port of Baltimore & a cargo ship raid. It is false. None of the events it cites took place.
— Port of Baltimore (@portofbalt) May 11, 2017
America’s Last Line of Defense hinted that its story was false by linking to a meme about the film “Forrest Gump” instead of a CNN story about the alleged raid. “Are you stupid or something,” the text of the meme says.
But that clue may not have been available to readers who came across the story on other websites that repeated the claims without a warning.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to help identify and label viral fake news stories flagged by readers on the social media network.
Sources
Stryker. “BREAKING: Clinton Foundation Cargo Ship Raided At Port Of Baltimore Reveals Sick Secret.” Thelastlineofdefense.org. 11 May 2017.
America’s Last Line of Defense. “About Us.” Accessed 16 May 2017.